S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Carl and crew helping you take your next step with Jesus.
S2: Expanded version. Come as you are. Experience God. Overcome what
S2: seems impossible and live as you never imagined. Is that
S2: a pipe dream? No. No. It's a promise all the
S2: way through the scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, God holds
S2: out before us this life that is so extraordinary, a
S2: 30 6000 fold life, a life of abundance. What we
S2: find in Scripture are some unblushing promises of God, says C.S. Lewis,
S2: that are staggering. If you consider the promises of God
S2: just in the Gospels, we have to be in awe
S2: over what God wants to do in our life. The
S2: theme for this week is rock solid. I went to
S2: solid Rock Bible Camp and so solid Rock Bible Camp
S2: better have a big old rock than they did.
S3: That's true. You know what? I didn't think about that before.
S3: Because I've heard the name a lot when you've shared
S3: the stories, but it better have a big rock on it.
S2: It's it has a humongous rock. And when I say
S2: a big rock, this rock, it was split in two.
S2: And so you could kind of walk through it, but
S2: it was I don't know what the mass of this
S2: thing would have been, but it was probably 80ft long
S2: and about 40ft wide and about 25ft tall to the
S2: point where you could repel off the rock. And it
S2: was where everybody hung out. Trees grew on the rock.
S3: Oh, cool.
S2: So this was a rock. It was amazing. And that
S2: metaphor of the rock is all the way through the
S2: scriptures most. I think the most striking evidence of a
S2: rock solid faith is found in Matthew seven, the very
S2: last words of Jesus in the sermon on the Mount.
S2: And we love to be anchored in this passage, pardon
S2: the pun here, because what we find Jesus saying is
S2: that there's two different kinds of people in this kind
S2: of Christian world or religious world that we live in.
S2: So his audience is very Jewish, and he's laid down
S2: a teaching in the sermon on the Mount. That is
S2: who heavy duty. He says, you have heard it was
S2: said on a number of times, and he's referring to
S2: the Old Testament and some of the law. But then
S2: he raised the bar. If the law wasn't tough enough
S2: to achieve, he raised the bar. But the promise that
S2: he has is this if you hear his words and
S2: apply them to your life, you will be like a
S2: person who builds their life on the rock. The storms
S2: of this life come and you're going to sustain those storms.
S2: The flip side is true as well. You can be
S2: a person who hears these words and doesn't apply them
S2: to their life. And you'll be like a house built
S2: on the sand. Everything we're going to point you to
S2: this week is what I would call rock solid. And
S2: so I think the first thing we got to clear
S2: out of the way is, is God's word solid? I mean,
S2: before we even think about applying it, shouldn't we know
S2: the validity of it, the inspiration of it? Is it
S2: from God? How do we know that? Is there all
S2: important questions? And we're going to come out hot this morning.
S2: Doctor TP is going to be with me. And we're
S2: going to break down apologetics in such a practical way.
S2: Asking questions is this a reliable source if I want
S2: to apply it to my life is it reliable. And
S2: when you find out its reliability, you have that much
S2: more motivation to put it into application in your life.
S2: So buckle up, get a swig of water, grab your
S2: cup of coffee if you're on the road. Whoo! I
S2: hope you've got a few minutes, doctor TP coming up.
S1: She was trying to earn her way to God, but
S1: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
S1: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Well, there's a lot of reasons that people have for
S2: not bowing a knee before God, and sometimes they're just
S2: an excuse. And I think sometimes when you run into
S2: someone and I've had this happen many times where they say, oh,
S2: come on, uh, you know, how can I trust that
S2: the Scripture is truly God breathed? How do we know
S2: that the Gospels are an actual account of what Jesus
S2: truly said? We've run into people like that, Jonathan.
S3: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And I think that the questions are fair.
S3: You know, it's a book. There are a lot of
S3: religions that have quote unquote, holy books that they say
S3: are inspired by God.
S2: It's old, It's old.
S3: And and so it makes sense that people would look
S3: at it and say, well, how do I know that's
S3: from God?
S2: Doctor Timothy Paul Jones or Doctor TP is with me
S2: right now. Is the issue of canonicity and the authority
S2: of Scripture. Is that a convenient excuse? Where do people
S2: land on this? I mean, it's hard to bow a
S2: knee before God. Is that just an easy out, an
S2: intellectual argument that allows them to avoid submission to God?
S2: What do you say, doc?
S4: I think it's a little bit of both. It's actually
S4: is some people have legitimate questions and they're real questions
S4: about this. But at the same time, there are people
S4: who use it as a cover. I don't want to
S4: submit to God. Therefore, I can draw on this as
S4: an excuse. And when you enter into a conversation with them,
S4: you can tell pretty quickly which one they are, because
S4: some people are willing to hear some evidence, hear some ideas,
S4: and process that and other people, they will just jump
S4: onto some other doubt that they have. And if they
S4: just keep jumping doubt to doubt, that's a pretty sure
S4: indicator that actually they're simply not wanting to believe and
S4: not wanting to submit to God.
S2: Yeah. Doing a dance around the Lordship of Christ. Doctor
S2: Jones serves as VP of Doctoral Studies and is chair
S2: of the Department of Apologetics, Ethics and Philosophy at the
S2: Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He's also pastor at Sojourn Church
S2: Midtown in Louisville, and he's authored a lot of great books. Guys,
S2: take a listen to this. Why should I trust the Bible?
S2: How we got the Bible that received a Gold Medallion
S2: Christian Book Award, and a lot of other great works here. Okay,
S2: doctor TP, I want to jump into canonicity. Let's hit
S2: that first. What is canonicity? Why do some people have
S2: a problem with the books that we have in the Bible?
S4: So when you talk about canonicity or the canon, you're
S4: not talking about a gun that you shoot or anything
S4: like that, that actually comes from the same root all
S4: the way back at the beginning. It comes from a
S4: river reed that they would cut to measure things. So
S4: you think about a cannon was a river reed that
S4: they used to cut to measure things. And so what
S4: the root meaning of cannon has to do with is
S4: that it is something that you are measured by, or
S4: that you measure with. Side note cannon and is in
S4: the weapon comes from the fact that both are a
S4: tubular construction, and that's why it is. So anyway, so
S4: there you go. But the cannon is the books of
S4: the Bible, which are authoritative for the people of God.
S4: So when we talk about the cannon, we're simply saying,
S4: these are the texts, these are the books that are
S4: authoritative for the people of God. And yeah, people have
S4: a lot of questions about this and a lot of
S4: doubts about this. And they may have several years ago
S4: run across The Da Vinci Code, and they may have
S4: run across some on one of the cable channels or
S4: the YouTube or whatever it may be over the past
S4: few decades that causes doubts about the books that are
S4: in there, because there's all these people talking about the
S4: lost gospels and lost books and all of that. So
S4: it is an area where people have questions, some legitimate questions,
S4: but it has to do with authority. And what is
S4: authoritative for people who worship Jesus Christ.
S2: A lot of how we receive the canon was the
S2: early Church fathers, right? I mean, they were councils that
S2: were formed that determined what got in and what didn't
S2: make the cut. How was that determinative and how much
S2: confidence do you have that we have solid ground that
S2: we're standing on there?
S4: Well, it's really important for us to recognize that. And yes,
S4: the church fathers do testify to a lot of these things,
S4: but I think it's important for us to recognize that
S4: the church fathers didn't determine any of this. So they
S4: had a definite set of standards by which they were
S4: working in this in the early church. And we actually
S4: have good evidence of that. Let me give you two
S4: really quick bits of evidence for that, that we know
S4: what their standard was. There's a document called the Muratorian
S4: fragment from the second half of the second century. It
S4: says that there's this book that they're trying to include
S4: in the authoritative books. The books publicly read called the
S4: Shepherd of Hermas. They say it can't be because it's
S4: after the time of the apostles. Let me give you
S4: one more quick tidbit right there. And that is a
S4: guy named Serapion of Antioch. In the second century, some
S4: people bring a text to him called the Gospel of Peter.
S4: He says, at first it's okay to read this. Then
S4: he realizes, no, this didn't really come from Peter. Stop
S4: reading this text as an authoritative text in any way.
S4: So you've got a couple of these. I could point
S4: to others, but here's the key point is that the
S4: books of the New Testament were considered to be authoritative
S4: because they came from either eyewitnesses of the risen Lord
S4: Jesus or close associates of the eyewitnesses. So whenever there's
S4: any group of Christians gathering talking about this, they are
S4: not sitting around deciding, we like this book, we don't
S4: like this book, or this book gives us political power.
S4: This one doesn't. That's not what they're doing. That's not
S4: what they're doing at all. What they're asking, what they're
S4: considering throughout this time is can this book be reliably
S4: connected to an eye witness of the risen Lord Jesus Christ,
S4: or a close associate of the eyewitness? And that's why
S4: I have strong confidence. Yeah, it was decades, even centuries
S4: before some of these books were actually universally accepted. But
S4: the question they were asking was, can we reliably trace
S4: this back to somebody who's an eyewitness or a close
S4: associate of an eyewitness? In some sense, our canon is
S4: Jesus shaped because of the fact that it had to
S4: be traced back to an eyewitness or a close associate
S4: of an eyewitness.
S2: Man, it's fascinating and rock solid information right there. Doctor
S2: TP with me right now, and we're going to have
S2: links for some podcasts that are going to blow your mind.
S2: Coming up, he's a co-host of a popular apologetics program
S2: called the Apologetics Podcast. I want to go to second
S2: Timothy 316. All Scripture is breathed out by God and
S2: profitable for teaching, for reproof, for reproof, for correction, for
S2: training in righteousness, that the man or woman of God
S2: may be complete, equipped for every good work. There's a
S2: lot of people that use that passage to confirm the
S2: canonization or the inspiration in the New Testament. Now, Paul
S2: coaching up Timothy probably didn't have that in mind. How
S2: can we apply that passage to old for sure. But
S2: to New Testament, is there any crossover in your mind?
S4: There is certainly crossover in this. So let's think about
S4: what Paul was meaning right there. He is referring there
S4: to the Old Testament, what we call the Old Testament,
S4: as something that is breathed out by God comes from
S4: the innermost identity of who God is. It expresses God's
S4: will perfectly. But here's what we recognize really early in
S4: the church's history. And we see this actually in the
S4: biblical text in Second Peter chapter three, verse 16, is
S4: that Paul's writings there are set alongside the other scriptures.
S4: It says, and so very early, these texts that came
S4: from associates of the eyewitnesses or eyewitnesses of the risen
S4: Lord Jesus, these texts that come from them are very
S4: early considered to be on par with equivalent to the
S4: scriptures of the Old Testament. And so it is legitimate
S4: for us to say that this text in Paul's letter
S4: to Timothy does reflect the New Testament as well, not
S4: because that's what Paul necessarily had in mind in that
S4: particular instant, but because we recognize how quickly Christians recognized
S4: the equivalent authority of the words of the apostles and
S4: those eyewitnesses and close associates of eyewitnesses, how quickly they
S4: recognized the equivalence between those and the Old Testament.
S2: My goodness, my man, you've done some deep work on
S2: this doctor TP with me right now. I'm going to
S2: keep going. You're lighting it up in, I believe it's
S2: Second Corinthians. Help me with the reference. Paul attests to first.
S4: Corinthians chapter 15, I believe right there.
S2: Yes, he makes the claim that Christ rose from the
S2: dead and appeared to more than 500. He put himself
S2: out on a branch. How does this testimony in first Corinthians,
S2: this letter, help validate the resurrection of the Christ?
S4: Well, it's really important that Paul isn't the one who
S4: comes up with first Corinthians 15 to begin with. That
S4: section in verses three through seven of First Corinthians 15.
S4: So it's really important to recognize it's not as if
S4: Paul is sitting down there writing the Corinthians and saying, oh,
S4: I'm going to make something up right here. But if
S4: you read that verses one through three of that text,
S4: which you see is that Paul is saying, hey, when
S4: I was back with you before, this is what I
S4: said to you. And not only that, he says, this
S4: is something I received that I then passed on. Here's
S4: what that lets us know. This is a tradition that
S4: Paul has received from eyewitnesses that he is passing on
S4: to the church in Corinth, and he has passed it
S4: on the exact same words to them several years earlier.
S4: He is simply reminding them of what he already said.
S4: Now that's really, really important because Paul is actually passing
S4: on something he got from eyewitnesses. And if you look
S4: even in critical scholarship, more liberal scholarship, they have to
S4: acknowledge that this text, that this tradition emerges sometime in
S4: the 30s, A.D. that is to say, within months to
S4: years after the resurrection of Jesus. Not only that, the
S4: wording and the structure of it suggests that it comes
S4: from a place where Aramaic is spoken. And one of
S4: the important things is we think about that is, is
S4: that that is the areas around Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, all
S4: of those areas there. So it comes from the time
S4: that Jesus was raised from the place that Jesus was
S4: raised from, people who would have known whether he was raised.
S4: And so this is an immense bit of evidence for
S4: the truthfulness, the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus.
S2: So, in essence, if Christ hadn't risen from the dead
S2: and Paul's going public with he appeared to more than 500,
S2: he would have been written off out of hand as
S2: a fraud in the first century.
S4: And rightly so. He should have been if he was
S4: saying this. And they went to those people and asked them,
S4: and these people remember, some of these people were circulating, traveling,
S4: especially to those among the apostles. They were clearly circulating
S4: among the churches. And see, that's that's the thing that
S4: there are certain critics who will say, well, the stories
S4: in the Bible are like the telephone game where you
S4: whisper something to somebody and you whisper something to somebody else,
S4: and you whisper and you go all the way around
S4: the circle, and then you share what was misheard, and
S4: everybody laughs because it was different than what you started with.
S4: They say that that's what it was. And my answer
S4: to that is I will grant you that. And here's
S4: what I mean when I say, I'll grant you that
S4: the reason that game works is because the same person
S4: who started that story that passed around the circle is
S4: still there when it gets to the end. And because
S4: of that, you can compare the garbled story with the
S4: original story. Everything in the New Testament was written during
S4: the lifetimes of eyewitnesses. What that means is when the
S4: story circulates, there are still people who are the eyewitnesses.
S4: When that story goes around the circle, the person who
S4: started the story is still there and can check it.
S4: So you have people circulating in the churches that can say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
S4: That was not the way the story actually happened. I
S4: was there or I know somebody who was there and
S4: it was more like this. You can't fabricate very far
S4: when the eyewitnesses are still there. And that's important for
S4: the text.
S2: Do we have any fragments of any letters or testimonies
S2: that basically called Paul a fraud for what he said?
S4: We don't really. Now, that's not to say there weren't some.
S4: I'm not trying to say that there weren't. We can't
S4: speak to what wasn't there. What we have are some
S4: of the Gnostic writings that emerged in the second, third
S4: and into the fourth centuries, particularly that actually try to
S4: retell the story in a different way, but they don't
S4: charge with fraud or with misstating this. Rather, they they
S4: separate themselves from the history completely of the text and
S4: then extrapolate or go beyond what the text has to say.
S2: Love it. Doctor TP with me right now. I'm going
S2: to fire you. One more. Boy, you are on fire
S2: here today, my friend. Let me hit this. The Gospels.
S2: There's a lot of discussion about. Oh, boy, there's a
S2: there's different phrasing. There's different. They don't totally synthesize. My
S2: take is it's astounding how incredibly similar the gospels are.
S2: I want you to riff on that. Pour out your heart.
S4: That's a great thing I love to talk about. So
S4: let's think about the Gospels. Well, first talk about just
S4: the formation and then the copying of them. We talk
S4: about just the formation of them. You have. Mark's gospel
S4: is recognized early on, and this we find that the
S4: church fathers, we find it in other places as the
S4: stories of the Apostle Peter. So Mark was Simon Peter's translator.
S4: And so what we have is the stories of that.
S4: So naturally, Matthew and Luke are going to draw from
S4: that source that is considered to be is already understood
S4: to be in the church reliable. So you've got Matthew,
S4: Mark and Luke with a lot of these similarities with
S4: borrowed content, but also with other content from eyewitnesses, from
S4: people they have talked to. And so you've got Matthew,
S4: Mark and Luke. Are there differences between them? Yes, there
S4: are differences between them. But none of these differences overthrow
S4: the fundamental historicity and truthfulness of any of these texts.
S4: And then you have John's Gospel that's just different from
S4: all of them. And John's Gospel also from an eyewitness,
S4: very early testimony to that. You got John's gospel being written.
S4: That's different. And I want to tell people, don't be
S4: concerned with those differences, because if you're in a courtroom
S4: and you have two people saying the same story word
S4: for word, then you might suspect they had gotten together.
S4: They had gotten their stories. Yeah, that's exactly what you're
S4: going to think, and rightly so. But if you have
S4: differences between them, they're telling the same story, but they're
S4: telling it in different ways. That is more likely to
S4: be the truth that is being told when they're saying
S4: the same story, but they're saying it in slightly different ways.
S4: That's what you have in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
S4: And when we look at the copies now, let's move
S4: to the copying of these texts. Are there differences in
S4: the manuscript copies? Yes, there are there are differences spread across.
S4: There are somewhere between 5 and 6000 fragments of manuscripts
S4: and entire manuscripts of portions of of the New Testament.
S4: Of course, there are copying variations, but not one of
S4: those copying variations overthrows anything that we believe about God
S4: or about his work in the world, and the vast,
S4: overwhelming majority of those overwhelming majority can be relatively easily identified.
S4: And we can find what the original reading was that
S4: handful of cases where we can't. It doesn't overthrow anything
S4: about what we believe about God or about his work
S4: in the world.
S2: Amazing Doctor Timothy Paul Jones or Doctor TP to those
S2: that love him and know him. And so you are
S2: that to me, my man. He has got a podcast
S2: with some of the most amazing content. Also, this will
S2: link to to other resources and books. I want you
S2: to check it out. Text trust to (800) 555-7898. Just that
S2: one word trust to 800 555 7898. Doctor TP, I
S2: want to thank you for being with me today. This
S2: is rock solid information and sometimes information can be transformative.
S2: Thank you for your time today.
S1: He was running from God, but God's love brought him home.
S1: Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on
S1: Moody Radio.
S2: This beautiful Monday morning. Hope you're off to a great
S2: start today. Listen, in this world, there's going to be
S2: a lot of craziness that's going on. And yet our
S2: God is able. And he's mighty. And he allows us
S2: to bear fruit through it all and to be radiant
S2: lights for the world around us. Coming up here in
S2: a couple of minutes. Oh, by the way, got a
S2: great response from someone here. Said enjoying your interview with
S2: TP doctor TP. Refreshing to hear solid biblical historical evidence
S2: isn't it young Thunder?
S3: It is super encouraging because we we act by faith,
S3: but we also are given lots of things to look
S3: at in order that are that are proofs to say
S3: this is very obvious, that the God of the Bible
S3: is the one true God that Jesus lived on earth,
S3: that he died and rose again. There's evidence for that,
S3: and we can look at that and be encouraged by it.
S2: Yeah, some of you maybe heard a piece of that interview,
S2: or you want to pass it on to someone else,
S2: because some people do have very curious questions. They're not
S2: asking questions just to not bow a knee to God.
S2: Some are very curious and understand how the books of
S2: the Bible get there. Are the Gospels authoritative? Do they
S2: sync up? There's answers for those questions and get the
S2: show cast. If you haven't yet gotten the show cast,
S2: we've been banner adding this thing. All you have to
S2: do is get it one time. Download the link for
S2: either iPhone or Android, and then subscribe on that page.
S2: And you don't have to keep texting back show. But
S2: if you get this one key word, we're going to
S2: send you two links. And if you have a hard
S2: time understanding how to subscribe, just ask someone in their
S2: 30s and they'll get you figured out on this one.
S2: Or 20s? 20s. 30s. And guess what? There's some 40
S2: and 50 year olds that got it together. There's some
S2: 6070 year olds that got it together on this stuff.
S2: But text the word show to 805, five, five, 78, 98.
S2: If you didn't get all of doctor, doctor TP, you
S2: can get them now. Text show to 800 555 7898.
S2: Show to 800 555 7898. Coming up, I got a question.
S2: Did you go to church yesterday or should I say,
S2: did you go to a building and be with the church?
S2: And what came out of that? We're going to open
S2: up phone lines here bright and early on this Monday morning.
S2: Hang on guys.
S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
S1: Super die is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio.
S2: We all need Jesus. And yet when we hear the
S2: words of Jesus, the words of Paul, the prophets, the
S2: question is, what are we going to do with it?
S2: Now this is the simple game changer. The only difference
S2: between having a life that's built on the sand and
S2: when storms come. Man, you can't withstand storms and storms
S2: are coming. The only difference between a house built on
S2: sand and house built on the rock is one singular thing.
S2: One both heard truth. Both have hopes. Both have dreams.
S2: Both might have a God sized vision for their life.
S2: One difference. One application. That's it. How many of us
S2: have walked out of a Sunday going, man, that was good.
S3: Yeah.
S2: And then we came away from a weekend service. Goes. Boy,
S2: that was tremendous. And how do you make that tremendous
S2: into something stupendous, like over the top, like crazy good
S2: in your life? One word application. That's it. So I'm
S2: going to open up phone lines right now. And for
S2: some of you, you've got a recall, something that you
S2: were fired up about less than 24 hours ago. How
S2: wild is that? But I want you to reach back 24,
S2: 48 hours. That's it. What is the one truth you
S2: heard in the weekend? Message that you want to apply
S2: to your life? Because the Spirit of God said, bang!
S2: This is the one. Think about it now. What is
S2: the one truth you heard in the weekend message that
S2: we just came off of that you want to apply
S2: to your life? Application is everything. Without it, we're going
S2: to be seeing builders, and you don't want that. Simple
S2: application of truth allows God in us to build a
S2: life that survives storms. Think about that. Is it possible
S2: to know a lot of stuff and have a house
S2: built on the sand? Ask a Pharisee next time you
S2: see one.
S3: Yep. Absolutely.
S2: I mean, absolutely possible. Absolutely possible.
S3: You know, thinking about this, what God gave me yesterday.
S3: I was sitting in church and we were talking through
S3: a portion of Philippians three, and my pastor was going
S3: on it, and he was talking through verse 18 and 19,
S3: where Paul is talking about some false teachers, and Paul's
S3: describing what they're like. The example that they set and
S3: in the midst of the example that they set at
S3: the end of verse 19, he says, they have their
S3: minds set on earthly things. And in that moment I
S3: was thinking about it and God convicted me with something.
S3: I often have a really hard time with discipline, you know,
S3: getting into the spiritual disciplines of life. I get going
S3: and then maybe I get a little tired and I
S3: fall off of them a little bit. I have a
S3: hard time staying committed to being disciplined. But there is
S3: something in my life, something that I wanted. An earthly thing.
S3: Not a bad thing. Just, you know, a material thing
S3: that I really wanted that took some discipline to get.
S3: And I had no trouble having that discipline in order
S3: to get it. And I said, maybe I can set
S3: my mind towards things of God, and the discipline wouldn't
S3: be so hard.
S2: Something to apply to your life?
S3: Something to apply.
S2: What is the one truth you heard in the weekend?
S2: Message that you want to apply to your life? Spirit
S2: of God prompted you and is reminding you this morning.
S2: Give us a call right now. We're going to get
S2: as many calls in as we can in just a
S2: few minutes. It's 805, 55, 78, 98. Give us a
S2: call right now. 800 555, 78, 98.
S1: He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you
S1: can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's
S1: curling crew on Moody Radio.
S2: So what is that? The one truth you heard in
S2: the message this weekend. You went to church. You were
S2: with the church because it's not a building. And there's
S2: a truth that was spoken that you want to apply
S2: to your life today. Luana in Florida. First time caller.
S2: What do you say, Luana?
S5: The message I got was be bold in your witness
S5: for the Lord like Elijah and like John the Baptist.
S5: Because our time here is short.
S2: Boy, it is short. Luana, thank you for that. That's
S2: a great word. You know, it's one thing to hear
S2: a message about being bold with the witness. It's another
S2: thing to do it and apply it to your life.
S2: You know, the cool thing about that truth is that
S2: God's promise in the Great Commission, when we go into
S2: all the world, preach the gospel, make disciples, he is
S2: with us to the end of the age. What a promise.
S2: Think about that one truth that Louwana just gave us today.
S2: And I want you to think about this. Is God
S2: opening the door for me today to share my story,
S2: what God's done in me? And will he use that
S2: opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ with somebody?
S2: I believe he can, and I believe he will. Opportunities
S2: all around us here.
S1: You're listening to Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: What is the one truth you heard in the weekend?
S2: Message that the Holy Spirit is saying, apply it to
S2: your life. Craig. First time caller in Miami. Good to
S2: have you with us this morning, my man. What did
S2: you hear? And what are you going to apply?
S6: What I heard is that, um, the preacher was saying,
S6: trust in God is okay, but trust God is greater.
S6: And most of the time, we trust in the Word
S6: of God. But when situation arises, we forget to trust
S6: God who spoke that word. And that's what that's what. Yeah.
S6: And that's what I you know, I grew up and
S6: I would like to apply that moving forward, learning to
S6: trust God, not only his word, but trust him for
S6: who he is.
S2: Yeah, it's a semantic issue, but it's more than that.
S2: This is a real heart issue, isn't it, Craig? First
S2: time caller from Miami. That's a beautiful observation. I love
S2: it because it's one thing to say I trust in God,
S2: but then it comes down to crunch time. And is
S2: it in this moment that I'm going to Trust God.
S2: Lost a job. Wayward kid. What's on your heart?
S3: It's easier said than done. Because, you know, we. We
S3: sit and we read and we believe it. Absolutely. But
S3: then when when rubber meets the road. And that tough
S3: situation staring us right in the face, it can be
S3: so easy to look away from God and to look
S3: back into our own situations. I mean, Peter, you know,
S3: walked on water with Jesus. He saw Jesus walking on water.
S3: And he said, Lord, if it's really you, call me
S3: out onto the waters. And he did. And so Peter
S3: followed him in faith. But then he started looking at
S3: his surroundings. He got scared, and then he started to fall.
S2: Yeah, this is a classic. And if anyone was raised
S2: in church, you know this passage. Proverbs three five and six.
S2: Listen to this. In fact. Yeah, let me get these
S2: two verses and I might do more here because sometimes
S2: the context is even better. Trust in the Lord with
S2: all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.
S2: Here's here's what's quantified. So a lot of us say
S2: we trust in God, but it goes on. And do
S2: not lean on your own understanding in all your ways
S2: acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. So
S2: here's the implication. If we try to sort out something
S2: in our life, in our own understanding, absent of the
S2: counsel of God, our paths are going to be wobbly,
S2: like a drunk dude walking down a sidewalk. We don't
S2: want to be the drunk dude walking down the sidewalk.
S2: We want to have this straight arrow relationship with Jesus.
S2: Simple truth. Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
S2: and do not lean on your own understanding. In all
S2: your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.
S2: Awesome stuff Craig. First time caller from Miami. Love that.
S2: Let's go back to the phone lines. Uh, let's go
S2: Jackie in Cleveland. What do you say, Jackie?
S7: Hi. Um, thanks for taking my call. Um, I was
S7: baptized a year ago, and I realized this message didn't. Uh,
S7: this message in the service about active versus passive faith. Um,
S7: I was I was leading a path of faith. And, um,
S7: I realized after hearing about Moses and his journey that
S7: you have to be active. Um, long story short, I'm
S7: going through a horrific divorce, fighting over money. I'm chronically
S7: ill as my son is. I decided to stop fighting
S7: about money. Be active, and the Lord Jesus will take
S7: care of me.
S2: Jackie, I believe it's sister. And I'm so sorry. You're
S2: going through a hard battle right now. But, Jackie, you
S2: believe that, don't you? That if we actively. It's. It's
S2: so easy to take this into our hands. But if
S2: we lay this at the foot of the cross, that's
S2: my bride's term all the time. It can change things,
S2: can it, Jackie?
S7: It is. I even have a lighter spirit just thinking
S7: about it. And I know, I know the other way.
S7: All the money in the world can't change what's going on.
S2: Yeah, it's an amazing thing, Jackie. And I just want
S2: you to ride the coattails of something that I've seen
S2: in life. It's hard to get your mind around it,
S2: but when we do, when we can release to God
S2: the worries of this world, the deceitfulness of wealth and
S2: the desire for other things, and say, God, I put
S2: this in your hands. It doesn't mean that he won't
S2: call us to act, but the actions that we do
S2: after that full surrender of whatever it is that we're
S2: up against, it will it will be way lighter yoked.
S2: It'll have a lot less, uh, it'll have a lot
S2: less words around it than the words that we use
S2: when we're taking things into our own hands. There will
S2: be a peace that transcends all understanding, and it will
S2: guard our hearts in Christ Jesus. Way to go, Jackie!
S2: Way to go! What is it that you heard yesterday?
S2: You were at church. Could have been a Saturday night service.
S2: You went to be with the people, the church. And
S2: God showed you something, and you're like, gotta apply that.
S2: Here's what I want to ask you today. You want
S2: to have a house built on a rock. Hearing it's
S2: one thing. Applying it is everything. Put feet to it today.
S2: This is Zach Williams.
S1: Your shot of hope to help you through the day.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Topic rock solid. Why that topic? You can find the
S2: metaphor of rocks as representing a relationship with God or
S2: who God is all throughout the scriptures, it's everywhere. But
S2: my favorite reference to a rock is the promise Jesus
S2: gives at the very last story that he tells in
S2: the sermon on the Mount. He says, listen, those of
S2: you that hear my words today, and boy, he laid
S2: it down. Sermon on the Mount. You could camp out
S2: there for a month of Sundays and never run out
S2: of things to apply to your life. But he said,
S2: those of you that hear what I'm teaching and put
S2: it into action, meaning application, you're going to be like
S2: a house built on a rock. You're going to survive storms. Conversely,
S2: those that have good information without application, they are destined
S2: for a life that's built on the sand. Storms come. Boom.
S2: Can't handle the pressure. Can't handle the storms. It's a
S2: binary choice. That's what's wild about it. And God gives
S2: us that opportunity to choose between life and death. Blessings
S2: and curses. And he says, choose life. So we find
S2: Jesus is God's call to the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy.
S2: But the same choice binary choice is before us today.
S2: You hear the word and you apply it, and it
S2: changes everything. Application is everything. This is why many people
S2: and you might know someone like this. This isn't picking
S2: on anyone, but just an observation. You might know. People
S2: that have been in church a long time seem to
S2: know a lot of truth, but their private lives don't
S2: seem to be too well in order. Some things seem
S2: to be kind of squiggly with regard to how their
S2: lives are lived. Well, there's a reason for that. And
S2: God wants to turn this whole thing around and he can.
S2: Application is everything. Everything. Tom and Arizona. What do you say,
S2: my man? What did you learn that you need to apply.
S8: Good morning. Carl. I sit around in my family and
S8: we talk about politics, complaining about this or that. And
S8: then my pastor talked about first Peter 217 honor the Emperor.
S8: And the fact is, all these elected officials and the
S8: school boards and all this, they're they're all elected. They're
S8: chosen by God. We need to just honor them and
S8: don't when you're seeing it, he said in the parade.
S8: You don't boo the people going by that you don't like.
S8: You're giving them honor and respect. How you doing? And
S8: you're doing that for Christ. You're doing it because that's
S8: the law.
S2: Yeah. It's interesting. I mean, God is not against opinions.
S2: He's not against voting. He's for all that stuff. Sure.
S2: I mean, God's put in the Constitution of the United
S2: States of America. Everybody gets to voice their opinion. But
S2: there comes a time when you're wringing your hands, more
S2: so over the political dynamics in our world than the
S2: spiritual realities. We're off the rails. We're off the rails.
S2: Tom from Arizona. Boom, brother. That's what I'm talking about.
S2: That's a great word. And that's a hard one to hear. Yeah.
S2: I mean, it's easy to get twisted around the axle
S2: of who knows what's going on. We had someone call
S2: in here a couple hours ago already. Goodness sakes. Yeah.
S2: And their big conviction and action point was that it's
S2: one thing to trust in God. It's another thing to
S2: trust God. And I don't know what you need to
S2: lay down at the foot of the cross today, but
S2: he's got something for you. He does. He's got something
S2: for you to lay down today and trust him for.
S3: Carl, I got a question for you. So you're a pastor.
S3: You preach often on the weekends. How does God move
S3: through a sermon that you're speaking to teach you something?
S2: The best messages preached are the ones that are owned
S2: first and foremost by the speaker. And I try to
S2: apply it first to my life before I preach it
S2: to others. Good question dude. Yeah. I mean, it's it's
S2: I just find the more I own it and boy,
S2: did I own it this weekend. The more I own
S2: it and feel it, the more it has power. When
S2: it comes off of my heart and off of my lips.
S2: And it's really the message of God. The beauty. This
S2: is why having topical messages that never crack open the
S2: Word of God probably not a good idea.
S3: Yeah, agreed.
S2: Because those things come back empty. But God's word never
S2: returns void. And I think for all of us that
S2: are finding ourselves in teaching positions or small group leadership,
S2: let that thing be resonant in your heart first, apply
S2: it first, then you can put the oxygen masks on others.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Sometimes Jesus tells a story that create a binary choice.
S2: Just you can go this way, you can go that.
S2: And I. One of the most famous stories in the
S2: sermon on the Mount is there's two guys. Same storms,
S2: same aspirations, same hopes, same dreams, and they're wanting to
S2: build a life that counts. One hears the word doesn't
S2: apply it. One hears the word and applies it. That
S2: whole issue of application is everything, and it's a game changer.
S2: Application gives you a choice between a life that's built
S2: on the rock rock solid, or a life that's built
S2: on the sand. I got a guy right now that's
S2: rock solid Simon Gilbert, he's from across the pond. He
S2: talks really funny. Or he thinks I do, which who
S2: talks funny anyway? Simon? Me or you?
S9: Man, you've got some crazy accent. Two countries divided by
S9: a common language.
S2: Isn't that true?
S9: It's just.
S2: Crazy. Simon, what's the fresh thing God's doing in your life,
S2: my man?
S9: Oh, well, I mean, we were together a few weeks
S9: ago in in Burundi, and it was so good, wasn't it,
S9: to be there preaching together on this rickety stage with,
S9: I don't know, 1500 people and calling and God's Spirit
S9: to come and people coming forward and some demons manifesting
S9: and people getting healed. It's such a treat, isn't it,
S9: to serve Jesus.
S2: Yeah, Yeah, that was an epic trip. I'm still living
S2: with the aftermath. My tummy hasn't settled down, but that's
S2: a good price to pay for something like that. Simon Gilbeau.
S2: He is the founder of glow. Glow is a powerhouse
S2: ministry across Burundi. They are watching young men, young women
S2: unleashed and into ministry. It's amazing what God is doing there,
S2: isn't it? Simon?
S9: Yeah. I mean, I think God is close to the brokenhearted,
S9: doesn't he? And he saves those who are crushed in spirit.
S9: Quoting Scripture at you. So if people recognize their need
S9: it and they're humble, you saw it yourself when we
S9: looked out at that crowd. I have never in general,
S9: across preaching in different nations, seen a more hungry, desperate
S9: and expectant crowd to meet with God because they've seen
S9: that corrupt leaders have failed. They've seen all the lies,
S9: that they've been deceived with false promises. And they're like
S9: everyone else has let me down, and I'm going to
S9: give Jesus a shot. And you need to be broken
S9: to And you need to be humbled to meet with God.
S9: God opposes the proud, doesn't he? But he gives grace
S9: to the humble.
S2: Yeah. And I and I love the fact that if
S2: we will humble ourselves under his mighty hand, he will
S2: lift us up. Simon is a podcaster in England, and
S2: God is using him powerfully. And we're going to give
S2: you a link to that podcast here in just a
S2: little bit. So my theme this week is rock solid
S2: and there's a binary choice. I love Jesus's stories. So
S2: on the story of building our life on the Rock,
S2: what has God done in you? How have you seen this?
S2: You're a preacher. But more than that, you're an applier.
S2: You've seen people who hear the truth walk away. Don't apply.
S2: You've seen those who hear it, apply it. It changes
S2: everything of the construct of our life, doesn't it, Simon?
S10: That's right. Yeah. I mean.
S9: If we go way back to when I. You know
S9: why I ended up in Burundi? I prayed a prayer
S9: 27 years ago. My prayer was, God, I'll do anything.
S9: I'll go anywhere. That was my prayer. I'll do anything.
S9: I'll go anywhere. This guy tracks me down in the
S9: Wall Street of of London the equivalent. And he says,
S9: I believe God sent me to you. He wants you
S9: to go to Burundi and be involved in youth and
S9: mission evangelism. I'm like my heart's thumping in my chest thinking, God,
S9: is this some nut job or is this you? So
S9: I said to that guy, I said to that guy, thanks, weirdo.
S9: I'll think about it. I'll be spiritual. I'll pray about it.
S9: I went back to my job. I was in front
S9: of the computer, said, God, if that wasn't some nut job,
S9: then that means going to the most dangerous country in
S9: the world. I might get killed and people try to
S9: kill me. Give me a radical sign right now in
S9: front of the computer if you want me to go.
S9: It means leaving family, friends, security, career, everything. So give
S9: me a radical sign. I kid you not. Before God,
S9: the phone rang. I picked it up and the voice
S9: on the other end, out of the blue, said, do
S9: you know anyone who wants to work in Burundi now?
S9: No way. That that was my call. That was my call.
S9: It was nuts. And it was clearly God, you know,
S9: my job had nothing to do with Africa. I lost
S9: the plot in the office. People thought it was more
S9: weird than usual. But, you know, you can have a
S9: great promise, but you've got to act on it. So,
S9: you know, I often preach on Genesis 12 where God's
S9: called to call to Abraham. He says, leave your country,
S9: your people, your father's household, and go to the land
S9: I've called you to go to. And and Abram left
S9: as the Lord had told him, you can claim God's promises,
S9: but you've also got to obey God's commands. And so
S9: the onward part of that story is that I couldn't
S9: just say, wow, I've got this crazy answer to prayer. I,
S9: I had to obey. I had to leave the safety,
S9: the comfort of a of a fancy job in the
S9: West and family and friends and security and go to
S9: what was at the time the most dangerous country in
S9: the world. And all I can say is to God's glory.
S9: We've seen. We've seen hundreds of thousands of people come
S9: to Jesus out of out of being obedient. And so
S9: discipleship is daily obedience to the prompts with a dramatic
S9: or just little nudges of God. And, you know, that's
S9: that's a massive, uh, example I've given you. But then
S9: I think day by day and I challenge listeners to
S9: I just this is what I try to implement is
S9: that when I, when someone comes to mind in my head, I,
S9: I send them a WhatsApp message. I just send them
S9: an encouragement, encouraging note and so many times that little
S9: step of obedience is. You know, in extremis, that guy's
S9: about to commit suicide, or that woman has just given
S9: up on her marriage, and you just get a message saying,
S9: I'm praying for you in your marriage and boom, there's hope. Yes.
S9: And so, you know, we can do that. Just little
S9: steps of obedience. And I'm sure that people listening right now,
S9: if you put that in practice today, it will so
S9: boost your own faith journey because God's going to use
S9: you in ten people's lives as you just fire off
S9: a few messages and then you get the encouragement. It's
S9: a virtuous circle of obedience and discipleship.
S2: It is. You know, Simon, going back to Burundi, one
S2: of the things that struck me, and you're right when
S2: you look at these people attentive. First time I was
S2: in Burundi. I'm up on this platform. We had at
S2: that at that incredible evangelistic rally. We must have had
S2: 3 to 4000 people at that first one I was at.
S2: And I see this truck, I'm sitting on the platform,
S2: I'm bride sitting next to me, and I see this
S2: truck and it's coming down the road. It's a big
S2: panel truck. And I thought, oh, this is the food
S2: that they're feeding everyone because I thought, you know, call
S2: me cynical, but I thought, these people come here, but
S2: they're in there in rapt attention. They must be almost
S2: being good because they're going to get something. So I
S2: told my wife that. And then I leaned across. I
S2: looked at Isaiah. I said, is that the food truck
S2: that's coming? And he goes, what do you mean? And
S2: I said, aren't we feeding everyone here? I mean, some
S2: of these people have walked ten, 15km. Aren't we feeding
S2: people here? And he goes, oh no, we don't we
S2: don't have that in our budget to feed people. They
S2: just come here to listen to the gospel. Boy, did
S2: God do a smackdown on me. Number one, I didn't
S2: I didn't know the hunger that was there. But then
S2: God gave me a perspective. The hunger in those eyes,
S2: the hunger in those feet as they come to follow
S2: Jesus Christ. What is it that positions people like that
S2: to respond? That someone listening today can take that same
S2: posture of heart?
S9: Simon I think being stripped of everything is a painful thing,
S9: but it's a good thing. And I'm not saying in
S9: this coming story, I'm not saying this is good what
S9: happened to him, but it's an amazing story because I
S9: think of a friend of mine who, um, was in
S9: a refugee camp and she saw this old guy, this
S9: old dude in his rags, uh, with an empty bowl, praying.
S9: And she she was like, oh, that just looks a
S9: bit weird, incongruous as a sight. So she went and
S9: sat next to him and she said, what's your story,
S9: old man? And and he told her how he'd seen
S9: his wife and kids hacked to death. He was in
S9: his 80s. He'd walked six days to that refugee camp.
S9: He'd seen his house burnt down. He had lost everything
S9: in the world. And at the end of this horrific
S9: story of woe, he turned to her and he said,
S9: Madame Missioner, Madame missionary, missus, missionary. I never realized that
S9: Jesus was all I needed until Jesus was all I had.
S9: And I think that in in the West we just
S9: have so much stuff and it clouds out good. And
S9: we can think. We can live under the delusion that
S9: the stuff will meet our needs or satisfy our deepest desires,
S9: and it won't. It's a bankrupt, flawed worldview. And please, Lord,
S9: don't take me to the state of having my wife
S9: and kids hacked to death and my house burnt down
S9: and losing everything. But yes, Lord, I painfully say, strip
S9: me of my alternative idols of disobedience in terms of
S9: where I'm putting my faith.
S2: Yeah. You know, Simon, it's interesting. I've had people come
S2: up to me many times stateside here where there is
S2: plenty and there's so many distractions and so much wealth
S2: relative to the world. And I've had people at times
S2: tell me I'm empty. I'm at the end of myself. I'm.
S2: I'm a loser. I'm I'm never going to make it.
S2: And the stories vary, but the theme is the same.
S2: I'm broken. And one time I remember looking at a
S2: guy and he's got tears flowing down his face, and
S2: I said, brother, you've never been more strategically positioned for
S2: God to do something amazing in your life. Yeah. And
S2: he said, really, Carl? And I said, really, brother? And
S2: to the person that's listening right now, God's got you
S2: strategically positioned to do something like you've never imagined before
S2: in your life. Take hold of him today. You know, Simon, I,
S2: I've been kind of wood chopping on this in my
S2: brain a little bit, and I'm like, Lord, how do
S2: we in the West with so much stuff? And it
S2: is such. I'm, I'm convinced some of this stuff, even
S2: the American dream, when it's not attached to the God
S2: of vision, is so demonic, it can actually keep us
S2: from the one who wants to give us real life.
S2: How do we I mean, take a person right now
S2: that's doing really well in the world's eyes. How do
S2: we grab ourselves? How do we let the Lord grab
S2: ourselves by the spiritual heart and say, whoa, Stop. Stop
S2: trusting these things. Have you ever thought about that? How
S2: do we get there?
S9: I mean, that's a tough one to answer, isn't it?
S9: Because the God of this age has blinded people. And
S9: so we need to pray for them. We need, we
S9: ourselves need, and people we care about need a revelation
S9: of of of God's heart, God's heart for the poor.
S9: God's heart for us. Because you know we can be
S9: rich in the world's eyes and spiritually bankrupt. Um, so yeah,
S9: I think it's helpful to engage with, with, uh, get
S9: get outside our bubble because we surround, we surround ourselves
S9: with like minded people. And so, you know, I know because,
S9: you know, a few days ago we were together in
S9: Central Africa that is very helpful to our spiritual lives,
S9: because we get a reordering of our sense of values
S9: and priorities that it's hard to get when you're just
S9: in the rat race, you know, commuting with, with people
S9: whose highest aspiration is to is to add another zero
S9: to their paycheck or and consumed with, with, with just
S9: materialistic gain as the yardstick of what constitutes happiness and success. So,
S9: so it's it's, um, being in relationship with people who
S9: will be iron sharpening iron. So I'm really grateful for
S9: the key guys in my life who I invite into
S9: an intentional relationship to challenge me and say, hey, hey,
S9: you've toned down there. Hey, you're getting a bit distracted
S9: by the allure of, uh, more followers or, you know,
S9: on the podcast, you know, just, you know, concentrate on
S9: concentrate on Jesus, not on viewing statistics or anything like that.
S9: You know, they're so easy to get distracted.
S2: It is I love it. I think you're spot on, Simon.
S2: I think getting outside of ourselves, making sure that we're
S2: rolling up our sleeves, getting into the lives of others,
S2: I think the things of Earth grow strangely dim in
S2: the light of his glory and grace. Good word, Simon Guilbeau,
S2: my guest. Guys, I got to tell you something. He's
S2: got a podcast that's blowing up in the UK. It's
S2: either number one or number two on any given week, um,
S2: for spiritual, uh, Podcasts, and it's off the charts, literally.
S2: And it's a beautiful thing. I want you to get
S2: a link. It's always good to hear someone who talks
S2: very differently than us because it shocks us. The thing
S2: that's really funny, Simon, is we confer something on the
S2: Brits that it's it's it's really cool how God uses
S2: your accent to jar us a little bit. And I'm
S2: not kidding you, brother. It's so bizarre. Cable news channels
S2: find guys with British accents just to shake it up
S2: a little bit. And thanks for shaking it up today.
S2: You've done it, Simon. Uh, text the word inspired to 800, 555, 78, 98.
S2: Inspired to 800 555 7898. Get this podcast. If God's
S2: using it in your life, spread it around. Let's get
S2: him going on this side of the pond as well.
S2: Simon Guilbeau I love you hot dog. Thanks for stopping
S2: in today.
S9: Thanks, Carl. What a pleasure.
S1: A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is
S1: in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: That I want to tell you a story about my
S2: dad that will capture a big appreciation that we have
S2: for you. My heart was far from God when my
S2: dad asked me to join him for a Billy Graham
S2: crusade warm up. It was an event before Billy Graham
S2: was going to be coming to Anchorage, Alaska. Believe it
S2: or not. And he said, come on with me, son.
S2: And he knew my heart was far from God. And
S2: as I stood there beside him, I'll never forget when
S2: George Beverly Shea got up. And sang a song to God.
S2: How great thou art. And as George Beverly Shea sang,
S2: I looked up, looked beside at my dad, and I looked.
S2: And he was a big boy. Big Swedish boy. And
S2: tears are just pouring down his face. I think some
S2: of those tears were probably my son's here. God work
S2: in his life. I don't think there was any way
S2: of hiding that. But at the same time, he was
S2: just grateful for the goodness of God. Years go by,
S2: I become a pastor at a church in Alaska and
S2: God was on the move. We had so many services.
S2: Our Saturday night was two services and then Sunday and
S2: a gymnasium grew to the point where we had to
S2: have services at nine, 11, one, three and five. No joking.
S2: And God was on the move so much. We saw
S2: so many young people coming to Jesus. We had music
S2: that was contemporary. We would lean into some of the
S2: old classic hymns, but we had pretty much contemporary music.
S2: And one day I asked my dad, how are you
S2: doing with all this new music, dad? He was at
S2: that time in his early 80s, and I said, how
S2: are you doing, dad? You know what my dad said
S2: to me, Carl? I had a lot of years where
S2: I had music styles that fit my palate, and I
S2: totally surrendered the music styles of this day. Knowing that
S2: God is doing a new thing today and it's okay. Now,
S2: why do I tell that story about my dad? My
S2: dad died at 95 years of age and he rocked
S2: with Jesus right into eternity. One of the hallmarks of
S2: my dad is that he handled change better than most,
S2: because he surrendered it all to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
S2: He said, what's the bigger yes for now. And I
S2: want to applaud you because there's been a lot of changes.
S2: And even this morning we are being broadcast live right now.
S2: 9:00 East Coast, 8:00 central, 7:00. Mountain, 6:00 Pacific, 5 a.m. Alaska.
S2: And who knows whatever else time zone you're in. We
S2: got guy called in from Budapest, Hungary, here a few
S2: days ago. So that's what is it, three in the
S2: afternoon or something? Crazy. Here's what I want to say
S2: to you as there are alignment shifts and changes in
S2: our life. I just want to continue to encourage you,
S2: because we've had such an amazing response from so many
S2: of you that have my dad's heart attitude. I want
S2: to applaud you and say, way to go! It's easy,
S2: I get it. Change is hard. But to say, oh,
S2: who moved my cheese? Who moved my cheese? But to
S2: be able to say, God, it's a new season. A
S2: new day and there's new things to you. Be glory
S2: as I follow your Son Jesus by the power of
S2: the Holy Spirit. To all of you, I want to
S2: say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Yeah,
S2: we we love you and we're grateful for you. So
S2: by way of a story about my dad, I hope
S2: you get the bigger picture here. And again, thank you
S2: for your heart, your commitment to discipleship and all that
S2: God is doing in and through you. You are what
S2: makes this morning show go. And I mean that from
S2: the bottom of my heart. Somebody said, can you play
S2: Beverly Shea's? We don't have George Bev. No, but we
S2: got Chris Rice. It's pretty close. My dad, shedding tears
S2: over this song and still humble enough and dependent on
S2: God enough to see change in his time that he said,
S2: it's well with my soul. It's okay.
S1: You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't
S1: take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: You know, I want to thank you again. Extend a
S2: word of just grace and gratitude to you. It's an
S2: awesome thing. For those of you that don't know, Carl
S2: and crew here is now live still in the 9:00 eastern,
S2: 8:00 central, 7:00 mountain, 6:00 Pacific, 5:00 Alaska. And who
S2: knows where else. We had someone call in from Budapest, Hungary.
S3: Yeah.
S2: Probably two, 3 p.m. right there, right now. And I
S2: want to thank you. And I want to applaud you
S2: with my dad. Stories of backdrop I want to say
S2: this one more time in this hour. My dad went
S2: on to be with the Lord at 95 years of age.
S2: And he was a grace full guy, meaning he saw
S2: God's favor and God's power in his life, and he
S2: passed that on to his son and to many others.
S2: And one of the best ways I saw my dad's
S2: spiritual maturity was how he handled change. I do, I
S2: do remember how moved he was by George Beverly Shea. Now,
S2: some of you don't know George Beverly Shea from The
S2: Man in the moon. It's okay. Some of you don't
S2: know Luis Palau, one of my good friends who went
S2: home to be with the Lord a couple of years ago.
S2: And he had the privilege of ministering to almost more
S2: people live in evangelistic crusades than any man in recent history.
S2: And so seasons come, seasons go. But the gospel never changes.
S2: And my dad knew that. Never forget the time when
S2: he was listening to a worship band at our church
S2: in Alaska. And boy, they were they were playing something
S2: that was a totally different rhythm and content than what
S2: he had heard for many years. And I leaned over
S2: to him. I said, dad, how you doing? I was
S2: about ready to get up and preach the gospel, he said. Oh,
S2: you mean the song style? I said, yeah. He said, hey,
S2: I had my fun in the sun. He said, my
S2: bigger goal is for all these kids that are sitting
S2: here today, this new generation. And I want to thank
S2: you because so many of you have already displayed this morning.
S2: In fact, I got an email and we got a
S2: text message. Um, just saying, let's go. I know program
S2: changes happen, cheese gets moved. But I thank you for
S2: so many thousands, tens of thousands of you right now listening,
S2: who are so gracious because seasons change and you've been
S2: so awesome. Some of you are through gritted teeth. I
S2: trust the Lord. It's okay.
S3: Absolutely.
S2: Grit em today. You'll open mouth tomorrow and it'll be great.
S2: But I want to thank you from the bottom of
S2: my heart. But I also want to be really clear
S2: with something here that's very important here this morning. I
S2: am absolutely convinced that at any given moment, all across
S2: North America and beyond, people come here who are absolutely
S2: bankrupt spiritually, and they're realizing it for the first time today.
S2: What do I mean by that? Jesus said, blessed are
S2: the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
S2: First words out of his mouth in the sermon on
S2: the Mount are so counterintuitive. He said, blessed are you happy?
S2: Are you joy filled? Are you? When you realize that
S2: you have nothing apart from a relationship with God? And
S2: many came here today like this, but it is a
S2: divine blessing from God. I've had so many people as
S2: a pastor come to me going pastor, I feel like
S2: a loser. I'm at the end of myself. I nothing
S2: seems to work. I feel like I feel like my
S2: whole life has amounted to nothing to this point in time.
S2: And one man told me that with tears streaming down
S2: his face, and I said with a smile on my face,
S2: I want you to know something, friend. You are more
S2: strategically positioned for God to do something radical in your
S2: life than you've ever been, because we're not fit for
S2: the kingdom of God until we come to the end
S2: of ourselves. No one becomes a friend of God. No
S2: one becomes a child of God until we are born
S2: again and no one is born again. By saying, yeah,
S2: it looks like a little bit of an advantage to
S2: follow Jesus. Yeah, I'll throw that into the mix too,
S2: with my 401 and everything else I got going on. Yeah,
S2: until a person comes to the end of themself, we
S2: are not fit for the kingdom of God. You can
S2: be in church for decades. You can serve. You can
S2: teach and not know Jesus. We find that in Matthew
S2: seven many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord,
S2: and he's going to say, I never knew you. Now
S2: for some of you right now that those words right
S2: there that Jesus spoke are convicting to you because you've
S2: been very spiritually active, but you've never been a friend
S2: of God. And I want to tell you, God wants
S2: to bridge that gap today. And I believe that God
S2: brought you here to save your life from yourself and
S2: all the striving. And for many of you, religious activity.
S2: Some of you stumbled on this station this morning because
S2: you don't know why. But God, in His divine providence,
S2: in his power, brought you here for such a time
S2: as this. And I'm going to tell you how you
S2: can turn toward God today, become a friend of God,
S2: become born again, and experience what Jesus wants for you
S2: a 30 6000 fold life. He tells a story and
S2: lists a grain of wheat, falls to the ground and dies.
S2: It remains alone, but if it falls to the ground
S2: and dies, it produces a crop that multiplies over and
S2: over and over again. Your life counting for something that
S2: you've never even imagined or banked on up to this
S2: point in time. But you know what has to happen
S2: to that kernel. It's got to fall to the ground
S2: and die. And the metaphor is clear. Jesus says it's
S2: time to die to yourself so that you can be
S2: alive in a relationship with Jesus Christ. I love the
S2: story in John 14. Jesus is telling his disciples, I
S2: got to go away. And when I when I go, man,
S2: I'm going to prepare a place for you. Then the
S2: new heaven and new earth that's iterated in the best
S2: part is the first seven verses of revelation 21. It's beautiful.
S2: He says, I'm going to prepare this new place for you,
S2: and I'm going to come again. And Thomas is a
S2: great disciple. He asks questions others were afraid to ask,
S2: and he said, hey, I, I'm not sure I know
S2: where you're going. And he said, Thomas, let me tell you,
S2: I am the way, the truth, and the life. And
S2: if you follow me. I'll take you home with me
S2: when I come again. What's it mean if God caught
S2: you at a bottom? On this curve of life. Boy,
S2: you're strategically positioned today. Jesus said I am the way.
S2: Meaning you can no longer go your way, friend. It's
S2: time to turn around. It's the most loving word in
S2: the scriptures. Repentance is how we turn from our own
S2: way onto the path less traveled with Jesus Christ. It's
S2: the full surrender, holding nothing back, saying I give all
S2: to Jesus today. I'm not just adding Jesus to my life.
S2: I'm making him my Lord, my leader. Got a question
S2: for you. Are you at the bottom to the point
S2: where you're saying today, Carl, I'm turning around today. I'm
S2: giving my life totally over to Jesus. I'm turning it
S2: all over to him. Great. He put some more rebar
S2: in this new foundation that you're getting. He said, I
S2: am the way. I am. The truth. Meaning we can
S2: no longer live by the seat of our pants and
S2: our truth and our emotions and our feelings. We live
S2: by the truth of God's Word, beginning with we're all
S2: sinners that have gone our own way, and we need
S2: a Savior, and his name is Jesus. And today I'm
S2: asking you to receive that gift of salvation for the
S2: first time in your life. I'm asking you and I
S2: appeal to you. Don't let pride of all that you've
S2: done for God to keep you from walking with God
S2: for the first time. Don't let religious activity cloud the
S2: scenario here that God is building in your life. He's
S2: changing you. Give him your life completely. Surrender to him today.
S2: Turn around today. Is that you, my friend? Is today
S2: this day? Just speak it out to God. Today is
S2: my day. God, just tell him this. Wherever you are.
S2: Walking on a path, driving in a car. And then
S2: he says, I am the life. The word there in
S2: the original language is Zoe. It means abundant 30, 60,
S2: a hundred fold something that this world can't offer you.
S2: Jesus is giving you, and for some of you, he's
S2: filling you up right now. And in just a moment,
S2: I'm going to ask you to key in a key word,
S2: one word to us here, because I'm going to help
S2: you in your first steps with Jesus Christ today. As
S2: a matter of fact, I want you to do this
S2: right now. If you're driving, get to the side of
S2: the road. Get to a safe place right now. Just
S2: pull to the side of the road, get on a shoulder,
S2: pull off on a side street. If you're walking, get
S2: out your phone. If you're at home, get out your phone.
S2: And right now, if today you are saying by the
S2: cry of your soul, which is the prayer of faith Jesus,
S2: today I turn around. I repent. For the first time
S2: in my life, I've tried to add you to my
S2: broad path that I've been walking. But today I surrender
S2: all to Jesus. Just say I repent. I turn around
S2: and I believe that Jesus died for my sins. If
S2: that is you today, and for the first time ever,
S2: you are surrendering your life to Jesus. I want you
S2: to key in a word right now for the first
S2: time ever. You mean business with God. Just text the
S2: word new and we're going to help you in your
S2: first steps with Jesus. No matter where you are today,
S2: our God is with you. Just. Just text new that
S2: one word to 800 555 Five, 78, 98. Wherever you are.
S2: 800 555 7898 right now, just text that one word
S2: new to 800 555 7898 I'm going to shout out
S2: the last four numbers of your number. It's awesome that
S2: you know that someone knows that God now knows you
S2: as his kid. So just text it in right now.
S2: New to 800 555 7898 one word. We're going to
S2: help you in your first steps with Jesus. We're not
S2: going to spam you. We're just sending you a link
S2: that's going to help you walk with Jesus for the
S2: first time. 800 555 7898 and, father, I'm grateful for
S2: all these surrendering to you today. I give you praise.
S2: There's no one like you, God. There's no one like
S2: you in this work that you are beginning in so
S2: many people right now. You're going to carry it on
S2: to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Then I
S2: give you thanks for these that are breaking free from
S2: the bottom, being lifted up by you in the name
S2: of Jesus. I thank you a men and let it be.
S2: Those of you texting the word new right now. New
S2: life in Jesus today. Full surrender, full turning around. Giving
S2: your life to Jesus. Want to welcome you to the
S2: family of God? Just text the word new to 800
S2: 555 7898. I'm going to keep it right here. I'm
S2: going to keep it right here. We're going to keep
S2: it right here. And I'm going to shout out the
S2: last four numbers of your telephone number in just a moment.
S2: Just text that word new. Today is a new day,
S2: my friend. Doesn't matter how long you've been going to
S2: church today, you are in relationship with Jesus Christ. And
S2: tears are normative. Those things happen.
S3: Absolutely.
S2: When I was saved, boy, I had gushers coming out
S2: of my eyes for two hours straight, man. Where all
S2: the shame was leaving and new life was pouring in.
S2: And we want to welcome you today. If today you
S2: are saying, I repent, I turn around. Today I followed Jesus.
S2: Today I confess I'm a sinner who needs a Savior.
S2: I'm going to embrace the truth of who I really
S2: am and what I need in Christ. Welcome to the family.
S2: Just text new to 800 555 7898. I'm going to
S2: shout out your last four numbers here and just say
S2: right now, welcome to the family 9715, 2495 03830000 41 8414,
S2: 2170 55. Welcome to the family. 00795752973708103554772816737126. Welcome to the
S2: family to all of you 2149 7650 0491 1433 are
S2: gets emotional after a while 3964, 3474. Welcome to the
S2: family 2093 welcome to the family. Whosoever will may come.
S2: That's you friend today God calling you out of darkness,
S2: into light, into a relationship with God no longer working
S2: for God. Christ in you is the new hope that
S2: you have. And we're grateful for you. What's on your heart?
S2: Young Thunder, for all these new followers of Jesus today.
S3: Yeah, I, I want to encourage you. For those of
S3: you who haven't texted, uh, the word new, please do,
S3: because there are some things in there that are going
S3: to help you get started to take your first steps
S3: with Jesus. Uh, there's a little bit of advice that
S3: Carl's given that's so biblical. There's links to Bible translations.
S3: We want you to have the word. So, uh, places
S3: where you can go to get a Bible and then also, uh,
S3: a blog talking about what to look for in a
S3: church because getting around the family of God is so important.
S3: We're not built to do any of this alone. So
S3: please don't don't do it alone. And if maybe you've
S3: been in the church forever, don't feel embarrassed or ashamed
S3: that you feel like today is the real first day
S3: you're coming to Jesus. This is your story. God gave
S3: it to you And it's a good thing.
S2: Yeah, it's right on. Just text the word new to 800, 555, 78, 98.
S2: Just that one word. New to 805 five. Five, 78, 98. Man,
S2: it's for freedom. Christ has set you free. And there's
S2: new freedom today. 5211 5080. Welcome to the family. 0615.
S2: Welcome to the family. 6770. Welcome to the family of God.
S2: And even after we're gone here, you can text this.
S2: Some of you're scrambling for your phones right now. There's
S2: no hurry, but we're here for you. We're here to help.
S2: And we say welcome. It's so awesome. 9158 amazing what
S2: God's doing all across North America and beyond. Welcome to
S2: the family. Who the son sets free is free indeed.
S2: And this God who began this work, he will carry
S2: it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.