WEBVTT - The Hallucination of Salvation 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.360 Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:08.120 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:10.920 You know, one of the most beautiful things I've ever 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:13.560 heard in my life with regard to a life change story. 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:21.720 Is this. Cool, blessed, awesome young man named Jonathan Reinke. 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:24.680 And I nicknamed him Young Thunder. A number of years ago. 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:29.440 And Jonathan, your story God is going to use today 0:00:29.440 --> 0:00:31.639 in such power. And I know you've been in a 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:33.360 spiritual war, haven't you, my man? 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:34.120 Yeah. No doubt. 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:36.559 I mean, it's been a battle over the last 24 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:39.640 hours ramping up to this, but here we go. Let's 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:42.720 go man. Tell us what God's grace means to you. 0:00:42.760 --> 0:00:47.320 Sure thing. So I was born into a Christian family. 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:50.599 My dad is a pastor, and. And we went to 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:54.760 church every week. I went on Wednesdays for youth group 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:59.680 and and served regularly in the church. Was on ministry 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:03.760 trips in middle school and high school. And when I 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:06.920 graduated high school, I went to Moody Bible Institute, where 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:09.640 I took 40 hours of Bible classes to get my 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:12.760 communications degree. So I learned a lot about the Bible, 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:16.280 and I was where I was well versed in it. 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:21.240 I got good grades, I graduated, I got my job 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:23.839 here at Carl and Crew while I was a student, 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:27.400 and I got saved, but I got saved at the 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:31.080 end of the story, not at the beginning of the story. 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:35.600 I had prayed a prayer when I was young, uh, five, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:41.440 and I got baptized when I was eight. But even 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:45.880 though I believed Jesus existed, I didn't ever really care 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:52.360 about following him, about doing what he asked me to do. 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:54.880 Life giving things I wanted to do what I wanted 0:01:54.880 --> 0:02:00.570 to do because I thought there was life in that stuff. And. so. 0:02:03.530 --> 0:02:08.090 Throughout my time in high school, mainly I was a 0:02:08.090 --> 0:02:12.450 really good hider. I acted like a Christian to the 0:02:12.450 --> 0:02:15.490 people that I needed to act like a Christian to. 0:02:15.850 --> 0:02:17.930 And I didn't act like a Christian to the people 0:02:17.930 --> 0:02:20.810 who I didn't need to act like a Christian to. Yeah. 0:02:21.050 --> 0:02:26.690 And I didn't feel any conviction about it. I didn't 0:02:26.690 --> 0:02:28.530 feel maybe I felt a little twinge here or there, 0:02:28.530 --> 0:02:31.889 but it was easily brushed off. It it was just, 0:02:31.930 --> 0:02:33.929 you know, I'm gonna do me and I'll make time 0:02:33.930 --> 0:02:38.530 for God in my life later. No problem. And I 0:02:38.530 --> 0:02:41.250 felt pretty comfortable with that. I even pretty much convinced 0:02:41.250 --> 0:02:44.010 myself I was all good to go. You know, I 0:02:44.169 --> 0:02:46.490 tried to talk to people about Jesus in the midst 0:02:46.490 --> 0:02:49.690 of doing some, some horrible things that I, you know, 0:02:49.730 --> 0:02:55.090 I would absolutely never do again. And I'm thinking I'm 0:02:55.090 --> 0:02:58.169 they're all good talking to them about Jesus. Us. And 0:02:58.169 --> 0:03:02.169 I'm not there myself. I didn't realize it. It wasn't 0:03:02.210 --> 0:03:09.890 until I got here to Carl and crew that. I 0:03:09.889 --> 0:03:13.930 was finally faced with the reality that I didn't really 0:03:13.930 --> 0:03:21.530 know him. Wow. I came into work. I don't know, 0:03:21.530 --> 0:03:24.889 probably one of the first Freedom Fridays I had been 0:03:24.889 --> 0:03:27.610 a part of. It was early on. Carl was talking 0:03:27.610 --> 0:03:31.450 about Matthew seven, which is Jesus says to a crowd 0:03:31.450 --> 0:03:33.450 of people that many will come to me on the 0:03:33.450 --> 0:03:35.530 day of judgment and say, Lord, Lord. And he will say, 0:03:35.530 --> 0:03:37.890 I never knew you. Depart from me. But these aren't 0:03:37.890 --> 0:03:40.450 people that that are just crying out for a last 0:03:40.450 --> 0:03:42.410 minute thing. These are people that thought they were with him. 0:03:42.410 --> 0:03:46.610 They did mighty works in his name. And he said, no, 0:03:46.610 --> 0:03:51.210 I never knew you. Depart from me. And God started 0:03:51.210 --> 0:03:54.170 to put that on my heart that I never knew him. 0:03:55.410 --> 0:03:59.370 That scared me. I really wished Carl at the time 0:03:59.370 --> 0:04:03.850 you stopped talking about it because. Because you brought it 0:04:03.850 --> 0:04:05.970 up a lot. And I think that was the Holy Spirit, 0:04:06.010 --> 0:04:07.650 not just for me, but for a lot of people. 0:04:07.650 --> 0:04:11.089 But it was for me too. And I fought that 0:04:11.090 --> 0:04:14.930 for a long time, two years. I said, no, I'm good. 0:04:14.930 --> 0:04:20.170 I know him, I know him, I'm fine. And I 0:04:20.210 --> 0:04:22.489 focused in on the grace of God. God's got grace 0:04:22.490 --> 0:04:25.370 for me. You know, he holds me. He forgives me. 0:04:25.370 --> 0:04:28.770 I told myself it was deception, that it was deception 0:04:28.770 --> 0:04:31.250 that that I was being told I didn't know Jesus 0:04:31.290 --> 0:04:36.089 trying to freak me out. And that wasn't true. 0:04:36.690 --> 0:04:37.690 It was the Spirit of God. 0:04:37.730 --> 0:04:39.370 It was the Spirit of God trying to trying to 0:04:39.370 --> 0:04:46.730 bring me closer to him. And. As the years went on, 0:04:47.130 --> 0:04:53.050 the years, not the months, I was still trying to 0:04:53.050 --> 0:04:56.100 fight it, but it was getting more and more impossible 0:04:56.100 --> 0:05:02.300 to fight it. I became very anxious. God was putting 0:05:02.300 --> 0:05:05.420 my sin right in front of me. The things that 0:05:05.420 --> 0:05:10.339 I had hid away, that no one knew about my life. And. 0:05:12.740 --> 0:05:17.419 I desperately wanted that off my shoulders. But I didn't 0:05:17.420 --> 0:05:21.540 want to. I didn't want to surrender it. And so 0:05:21.540 --> 0:05:24.820 I tried not to. And I said, God, you got 0:05:24.860 --> 0:05:26.539 grace for me. You love me. You forgive me. I'm 0:05:26.540 --> 0:05:29.820 all good. I'm clean, I'm fine. And he was saying, 0:05:29.820 --> 0:05:31.860 that's not what I want of you. I want you 0:05:31.860 --> 0:05:34.580 to do something about this. And this is kind of 0:05:34.580 --> 0:05:37.299 what he used to get me to him as a whole. 0:05:38.339 --> 0:05:40.580 And he said, I want you to do something about this. 0:05:40.620 --> 0:05:42.979 You need to you need to bring it out into 0:05:42.980 --> 0:05:45.380 the open. I said, no, I'm not going to do that. 0:05:45.860 --> 0:05:47.700 And I fought it. I said, God, you got grace. 0:05:47.700 --> 0:05:50.860 You forgive me. You love me. I'm all good. And 0:05:51.220 --> 0:05:55.180 he brought to me Luke 646. Not reading the Bible, 0:05:55.180 --> 0:05:57.619 just brought it to me in one of my God. 0:05:57.620 --> 0:06:02.140 I'm all good sessions. He brought to me Luke 646, 0:06:02.140 --> 0:06:03.540 which is why do you call me Lord and do 0:06:03.540 --> 0:06:11.940 not do what I say. And. He was right. I 0:06:12.140 --> 0:06:14.380 believed that he existed. I believed that he died for 0:06:14.380 --> 0:06:17.500 my sins. I was all good with that. But I 0:06:17.500 --> 0:06:21.020 had no desire ever to do what he said. I 0:06:21.020 --> 0:06:26.179 just was going to live the life. And I think 0:06:26.180 --> 0:06:31.099 God was gracious to me by bringing the people around 0:06:31.100 --> 0:06:35.540 me that he did my wife, godly woman, the people 0:06:35.540 --> 0:06:41.180 on this show, and the consistent talking in the word. 0:06:42.180 --> 0:06:44.900 I don't think it would have been possible without those 0:06:44.900 --> 0:06:46.779 things in my life, but he brought those to me 0:06:46.779 --> 0:06:49.220 and it just the word kept coming at me and 0:06:49.220 --> 0:06:55.180 I had no defense. And So he finally brought me 0:06:55.180 --> 0:07:00.420 to my knees in his grace. Yeah, um, the anxiety 0:07:00.460 --> 0:07:03.140 was so much, I couldn't. I couldn't go, you know, 0:07:03.180 --> 0:07:07.179 five minutes without just being smacked upside the head with it. 0:07:07.540 --> 0:07:08.420 You were losing weight. 0:07:08.580 --> 0:07:12.740 I was losing weight. I lost £30 in eight months. 0:07:13.140 --> 0:07:17.580 And I mean, it was it was 185 to 155. 0:07:17.580 --> 0:07:21.180 So it wasn't it wasn't like, uh, like I was 0:07:21.180 --> 0:07:23.420 going and working out at the gym and and going 0:07:23.460 --> 0:07:27.740 crazy on fitness. I was anxious and it was falling 0:07:27.780 --> 0:07:34.660 off of me. And so finally, when it all came 0:07:34.660 --> 0:07:38.060 to a head, I was able to say, Jesus, I 0:07:38.060 --> 0:07:44.100 need you. Will you help me? And he did, and 0:07:44.100 --> 0:07:50.860 he helped me. And I can say that my desire 0:07:50.860 --> 0:07:55.950 is to live a life for him. because that's where 0:07:55.990 --> 0:08:00.310 life is. Because I don't believe that the sin path 0:08:00.310 --> 0:08:02.950 I was walking was the was the best way for 0:08:02.950 --> 0:08:06.670 me anymore. I believe that Jesus, when he says he's 0:08:06.670 --> 0:08:08.630 the way, the truth and the life means. When you 0:08:08.630 --> 0:08:12.390 follow me, I've got blessing upon blessing for you. So 0:08:12.390 --> 0:08:16.470 it's not that I've got a, you know, I've got 0:08:16.470 --> 0:08:18.950 to fill in these check boxes. So he's okay with me, 0:08:18.950 --> 0:08:20.990 but it's that I get to stand close to him 0:08:21.470 --> 0:08:25.030 so that I, I can experience the life that he 0:08:25.030 --> 0:08:25.910 has for me. 0:08:28.110 --> 0:08:33.190 This help. I want to just talk with you. Friend 0:08:33.190 --> 0:08:37.790 to friend. Here. That help was was more than just. 0:08:38.750 --> 0:08:43.630 It was more than just rooting kind of sin out. 0:08:43.630 --> 0:08:48.150 It was Jesus Christ invading your life and taking it 0:08:48.150 --> 0:08:50.550 over for the first time, was it not? 0:08:50.590 --> 0:08:54.870 Yeah, yeah, because it was, it was that the way 0:08:54.870 --> 0:08:58.429 of life before was impossible. 0:08:58.830 --> 0:08:59.190 Yeah. 0:08:59.230 --> 0:09:02.470 I didn't I don't want it anymore. And I still 0:09:02.470 --> 0:09:06.910 make mistakes. I and I have to wrestle with that. 0:09:07.429 --> 0:09:10.990 One thing that God's been bringing into my life recently, 0:09:11.510 --> 0:09:16.950 because he still works in me is that he said, Jonathan, 0:09:16.950 --> 0:09:20.350 you have a need to feel like you are in 0:09:20.350 --> 0:09:23.470 the right that you have. You've done all the things 0:09:23.630 --> 0:09:25.870 and that if there's any little thing that's even slightly 0:09:25.870 --> 0:09:28.270 not okay, you you have to go do this and 0:09:28.270 --> 0:09:29.750 you have to go do that, and you have to 0:09:29.790 --> 0:09:32.070 run around and try to make it okay. So you 0:09:32.070 --> 0:09:37.189 can feel better. And, and that's a pharisaical part of 0:09:37.190 --> 0:09:41.590 me that just wants to feel okay. But he's helping 0:09:41.590 --> 0:09:44.310 me to trust in now the part of his grace 0:09:44.309 --> 0:09:46.630 where I can say, you know what? I'm following the Lord. 0:09:46.630 --> 0:09:49.630 I'm listening to his leading. But I understand that I 0:09:49.630 --> 0:09:52.949 still do wrong things and my God has me covered. 0:09:52.950 --> 0:09:55.229 He will lead me in the way to right things, 0:09:55.230 --> 0:09:57.070 but he has me covered and I don't need to 0:09:57.110 --> 0:09:58.390 try to earn it all on my own. 0:09:58.429 --> 0:10:02.910 Man. I want you to hear our heart here today. 0:10:02.910 --> 0:10:06.150 This is a big deal. I just want to give 0:10:06.150 --> 0:10:09.270 you a few kind of points that I want you 0:10:09.270 --> 0:10:14.429 to hear very clearly. What Jonathan suffered from was a 0:10:14.429 --> 0:10:19.230 hallucination of salvation. We know that belief in God can 0:10:19.230 --> 0:10:25.229 be a mental assent to God exists. Jesus exists, and 0:10:25.230 --> 0:10:32.270 it's called cultural Christianity. The demons believe in God. They 0:10:32.270 --> 0:10:34.470 believe a lot of things that are true of him, 0:10:34.470 --> 0:10:38.189 but they've not yet surrendered to him. When Jonathan says, 0:10:39.110 --> 0:10:42.590 and he cites from John 14 where Jesus says, man, 0:10:42.630 --> 0:10:45.230 don't let your hearts be troubled. And that's what God's 0:10:45.230 --> 0:10:49.069 saying to you today. He says, I am the way, 0:10:49.070 --> 0:10:52.080 I am the truth. I am the life. No man 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:56.640 comes to the father but through me. Cultural Christianity is 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:00.080 a is a big problem in the West. It's a 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:03.720 big problem. I remember hearing a number of years ago, 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:06.720 Louie Giglio and John Piper speaking in Atlanta, and they said, 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:12.240 there are many, many in fact, I'm going to tell 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.880 you what he said, John Piper and Louie Giglio, I 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:17.040 forget which one said. It said there are millions of 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:20.360 people across America and in the West who go to 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:24.280 Bible preaching churches every weekend and are not born again. 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:31.160 And Jonathan's story is a picture of a hallucination of salvation, 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:36.120 thinking you see something in yourself that is not there, 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:42.679 and Jesus wants to pull down the blinders. Today, the 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.479 God of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:50.240 and sometimes he will use cultural Christianity to delude you 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:53.120 into thinking that you possess something that you don't have, 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:58.080 and God wants to save your soul today. It's a 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:01.120 sobering thing because as Young Thunder wrestled with, there can 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:02.800 be a moment of pride where you think, well, what 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.480 do I do? I mean, right, Young Thunder. I mean, 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:07.520 I'm raised in the church. My dad's a pastor. I 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:10.640 went to Moody Bible Institute. Yeah, but you had the 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:14.679 privilege of going to me, to Ali, to your bride, 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:17.760 to your dad, and tell them I was lost. But 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:21.880 I've been found. My goodness. But walking through that, that's 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:24.160 that's that's the grace of God that gave you the 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:25.959 courage to share that story, right? 0:12:26.000 --> 0:12:29.520 Yeah. Uh, the the biggest thing holding me back was, 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:33.960 you know, what would people think? You know, because. 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:35.439 And what does that matter? 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:36.679 What does it matter at the end of the day? 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:39.680 What does it matter what you know? But at the 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:44.800 same time, my fears proved to be, uh, not they're 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:50.680 not real unfounded because everyone I told was happy. Maybe 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:54.040 some people had some questions or didn't understand everything right away, 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:56.800 and that's okay. But at the end of the day, 0:12:56.960 --> 0:13:02.160 it was, you know, Jesus. And that's all I care about. 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:08.000 And so I tend to be scared anymore if someone. 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:14.520 If someone hears a story of cultural Christianity and someone 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:17.080 who was stuck in that trap but has been found 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:23.560 by Christ. The people who can celebrate that with you 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:25.760 are the people that you want to walk with on 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.679 this new path. But today, God is calling some of 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:31.160 you out of darkness and out of the shadows of 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:35.280 cultural Christianity, into the light of a relationship with Jesus Christ. 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:41.280 And today, I appeal to you, my friend. Don't let 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.520 surface stuff keep you from the depths of the riches 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:48.080 of God today. In the Spirit of God I know 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:52.000 is moving across this nation and in your heart today. 0:13:52.000 --> 0:13:56.680 And I say be reconciled to God. How? By belief 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.640 in Jesus. There has to come a time when you 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:02.160 surrender all to Jesus. We're not fit for the kingdom 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:05.360 of God until we repent of everything on this broad 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:08.520 path and say, God, although imperfect, moving forward, I want 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:12.840 on this narrow path with Jesus Christ today. It's believing 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:19.080 and saying, I believe, I believe, and I accept the truth, 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:22.240 that I'm a sinner and I need a Savior. And 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:26.720 I'm not playing cultural Christian games anymore. Today I surrender 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:29.880 my life to Jesus completely. And if that is you, 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:35.040 I want you to do that today. This surrender of 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:37.640 new life in Jesus Christ and coming out of cultural 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:41.720 Christianity is one of the biggest. It's like the sun 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:45.440 rising on your soul, and it's huge and it's big. 0:14:45.570 --> 0:14:49.650 and he's lightning. Your load that you've been carrying. And 0:14:49.650 --> 0:14:51.810 and you see it for the very first time. And 0:14:51.810 --> 0:14:54.210 today is your day of salvation. And I'm just going 0:14:54.250 --> 0:14:56.130 to pray for you right now. And I'm going to 0:14:56.130 --> 0:14:58.930 give you some points of declaration along the way. God, 0:14:58.930 --> 0:15:03.090 you right now are moving across our nation and around 0:15:03.090 --> 0:15:05.090 the globe and I give you praise. I thank you 0:15:05.090 --> 0:15:08.770 so much for Young Thunder. I thank you for his story. 0:15:09.170 --> 0:15:13.570 I know that you brought him here to be an example, 0:15:13.850 --> 0:15:17.770 a model, a picture for people who are stuck in 0:15:17.770 --> 0:15:21.250 cultural Christianity. That's why you brought him to our show, 0:15:22.570 --> 0:15:25.770 to save his soul and to be a stake in 0:15:25.770 --> 0:15:28.770 the ground for others to say, that's my story, young Thunder. 0:15:30.210 --> 0:15:32.530 And if that's your story today, and today is a 0:15:32.530 --> 0:15:35.210 day of salvation, I want you to just get to 0:15:35.210 --> 0:15:38.090 a quiet place, maybe pull to the side of the road, 0:15:38.090 --> 0:15:41.130 get to a safe place. And I'm going to give 0:15:41.130 --> 0:15:44.770 you a moment right now. And I want you to 0:15:44.810 --> 0:15:49.090 say these words right now. Jesus. All to Jesus. I 0:15:49.130 --> 0:15:54.490 surrender today, every bit of me. It's been a cultural Christianity, 0:15:54.490 --> 0:15:59.770 but today I surrender all to Jesus Christ. I confess 0:15:59.770 --> 0:16:02.410 to you that you are Lord of my life. I 0:16:02.410 --> 0:16:06.890 believe that you died for my sins and you rose 0:16:06.890 --> 0:16:10.130 from the dead, and you're alive today. And I'm experiencing 0:16:10.130 --> 0:16:13.250 life now for the first time in my life. And 0:16:13.250 --> 0:16:16.090 so declare right now I'm turning around. Just say it loud. 0:16:16.090 --> 0:16:18.690 I'm turning around today. From the broad path onto the 0:16:18.690 --> 0:16:23.850 narrow path. Declare aloud today I believe in Jesus. I 0:16:23.850 --> 0:16:27.370 accept the truth that he died for my sins, and 0:16:27.370 --> 0:16:33.690 I embrace it fully. And today I surrender all to 0:16:33.730 --> 0:16:37.410 Jesus and for you. This is a new day. It's 0:16:37.410 --> 0:16:39.330 a new day of salvation. And I'm going to ask 0:16:39.330 --> 0:16:41.290 you to be bold with what God's doing in your 0:16:41.290 --> 0:16:45.530 life until. Tell people whom you trust that you know 0:16:45.530 --> 0:16:47.570 are authentic followers of Christ. And I want you to 0:16:47.570 --> 0:16:49.250 go tell them today, and we want to help you. 0:16:49.250 --> 0:16:50.490 And I'm going to I'm going to give you a 0:16:50.490 --> 0:16:53.010 link right now. Grab your phone wherever you are, grab 0:16:53.010 --> 0:16:55.730 your phone, and we've got a link that's going to 0:16:55.730 --> 0:16:58.290 have embedded links in it. They're going to be how 0:16:58.290 --> 0:17:00.410 to find a good Bible, how to find a good 0:17:00.410 --> 0:17:03.410 church where you can plug into what to look for 0:17:03.530 --> 0:17:06.210 in a church that you can plug into. A third 0:17:06.210 --> 0:17:08.250 link will have a a place for you to put 0:17:08.250 --> 0:17:10.930 your address. We're going to just send you a resource. 0:17:10.930 --> 0:17:12.770 We're not going to spam you. We're going to send 0:17:12.770 --> 0:17:15.169 you a resource of how to walk in God's power, 0:17:15.210 --> 0:17:20.129 no longer with self-help or cultural Christianity going forward. So 0:17:20.130 --> 0:17:22.250 I want you to text the word new right now. 0:17:22.290 --> 0:17:27.330 New to 800 555 7898. Just text the word new. 0:17:27.810 --> 0:17:34.170 Right now to 800 555 7898. Just one word. Just 0:17:34.170 --> 0:17:39.610 new to 800 555 7898. If we have time, we'll 0:17:39.609 --> 0:17:42.010 shout out the last four numbers of your telephone number. 0:17:42.140 --> 0:17:46.420 but God is setting people free all across the nation 0:17:46.420 --> 0:17:50.380 today in Chicagoland and beyond. Just text the word new 0:17:50.380 --> 0:17:56.460 right now to 800, 555, 78, 98. 0:17:57.260 --> 0:18:00.260 He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then 0:18:00.300 --> 0:18:04.620 he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl 0:18:04.619 --> 0:18:06.380 and crew on Moody Radio. 0:18:06.619 --> 0:18:09.700 Watch what God can do. And we are seeing it today. 0:18:09.740 --> 0:18:12.260 I do not even have words to describe what God 0:18:12.260 --> 0:18:17.540 is doing. He's reaching in grace, extending hands of mercy, 0:18:17.540 --> 0:18:21.500 and calling people out of cultural Christianity and into the 0:18:21.500 --> 0:18:24.060 light of his grace and power. If you haven't been 0:18:24.060 --> 0:18:27.940 with us. Young Thunder shared his story here this morning, 0:18:27.940 --> 0:18:31.219 and God has used it mightily. We are going to 0:18:31.260 --> 0:18:34.020 hear from Young Thunder again in this hour, but we 0:18:34.020 --> 0:18:37.020 just felt like we want to shout out the last 0:18:37.020 --> 0:18:40.460 four numbers and it's going to take a bit, but 0:18:40.460 --> 0:18:42.940 I want you to rejoice in what the Lord is 0:18:42.940 --> 0:18:46.620 doing today to reach into people's hearts, many of them 0:18:46.660 --> 0:18:51.100 very religious, very cultural, Christian in nature, but not born 0:18:51.100 --> 0:19:02.820 again and now saving them 49, 60, 93, oh nine, 57, 37, 36, 79, 22, 0:19:02.859 --> 0:19:05.740 66 shouting out the last four numbers of your phone 0:19:05.740 --> 0:19:09.700 number from area codes all around the United States, and 0:19:09.700 --> 0:19:21.859 probably some from Canada. 1855, 29, 68, 62, 47, 95, 22, 2926. 0:19:21.900 --> 0:19:22.780 Pick it up from there. 0:19:23.140 --> 0:19:31.820 62, 82, 23, 43, 36, oh three, 92, oh two, 93, 0:19:31.859 --> 0:19:38.060 oh three, 40, 49 welcome to the family 52, 48, 33, 0:19:38.100 --> 0:19:55.020 70 8930 930, 1545, 1368, 3706. Welcome 45, 35, 94, 80, 55, 86, 92, 92, 1590. 0:19:55.060 --> 0:20:03.780 Welcome 1053, 94, 59, 84, 25, 87, 93. Welcome to 0:20:03.780 --> 0:20:19.500 the family. A listener from Ohio 1672, 32, 78, 24, 80, 84, 55, 80, 20, 23, 67, 14, 12, 84, 0:20:19.540 --> 0:20:20.979 48 Carl Go Ahead. 0:20:21.900 --> 0:20:43.070 Zero nine, 31, nine, 6184, 76, zero, two, 48, 28, ten, 96, 75, 41, 87, 96, 46, 91, 90, 0:20:43.109 --> 0:20:50.790 oh seven, 53, oh two, 60, 21, 54, 87. These 0:20:50.790 --> 0:20:54.389 are people who have in the last hour, just moments ago, 0:20:54.430 --> 0:20:57.750 actually about 7 or 8 minutes ago, responded surrendering their 0:20:57.750 --> 0:21:00.990 lives to Jesus, coming out of cultural Christianity as a 0:21:00.990 --> 0:21:05.270 result of of young thunder testifying to the grace of God. 0:21:05.310 --> 0:21:23.910 And I continue on 5487, I got that 146 5754, 1467, 44, 32, 33, 32, 96, 77, 67, 26. 0:21:23.950 --> 0:21:26.990 The last four numbers of these phone numbers pouring in, 0:21:27.550 --> 0:21:31.670 of people surrendering and finding life in Jesus. Freedom from 0:21:31.670 --> 0:21:39.869 cultural Christianity. 11 1442. 66 2076. Pick it up, Ali. 0:21:40.070 --> 0:21:48.910 7115. 39. 82. 71. 25. Welcome to the family. 30. 52. 70. 0:21:48.950 --> 0:22:06.030 Oh eight 5069 0261 welcome. 3390 4472 welcome. 2874, 27, 29, 93, 94, 20, 53. 0:22:06.390 --> 0:22:20.990 Welcome to the family 087408940062 8294 4504. Welcome 4142 5316. 0:22:21.390 --> 0:22:30.389 Welcome to the family 2378, 33, 60, 88, oh nine 1671. 0:22:31.430 --> 0:22:32.669 Welcome to the family. 0:22:33.670 --> 0:22:36.949 To each and every one of you. Father, in the 0:22:36.950 --> 0:22:40.430 name of Jesus. We thank you that the tomb is 0:22:40.430 --> 0:22:46.030 empty and our God is alive and you're still working today. God. 0:22:46.950 --> 0:22:49.030 We thank you for every one of these people. I 0:22:49.030 --> 0:22:54.070 have tears of joy and just great celebration in my 0:22:54.070 --> 0:22:56.430 heart for all of these that you're calling to yourself. 0:22:56.430 --> 0:23:01.109 It's an awesome thing, God and I pray your protection 0:23:02.230 --> 0:23:04.470 and those of you that have just surrendered to Jesus 0:23:04.470 --> 0:23:08.830 know this that there will be a battle intensified. But 0:23:09.470 --> 0:23:12.430 the Lord who began this work in you will carry 0:23:12.430 --> 0:23:15.310 it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 0:23:16.670 --> 0:23:20.510 It is his work. He begins it. He'll grow you 0:23:20.510 --> 0:23:30.310 up in it. He's got this. He's got this. All 0:23:30.310 --> 0:23:34.310 of God's children pray for these new followers of Jesus today. 0:23:35.150 --> 0:23:39.720 A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is 0:23:39.720 --> 0:23:43.360 in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:23:43.720 --> 0:23:46.160 So many are surrendering to Christ today. You know, we'd 0:23:46.160 --> 0:23:48.200 planned on going a certain direction, but we're going to 0:23:48.520 --> 0:23:51.359 really be sensitive to what the Spirit of God is 0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:54.080 doing here in this moment right now. Ali, what is 0:23:54.080 --> 0:23:58.080 on your heart, sister? The the movement of God is 0:23:58.600 --> 0:24:03.840 it's it's it drops you almost. It just drops you 0:24:03.840 --> 0:24:04.440 to your knees. 0:24:04.480 --> 0:24:08.160 It really does. And you know, I there's something this 0:24:08.160 --> 0:24:12.560 isn't talked about much in the church. The idea that 0:24:12.560 --> 0:24:17.000 that this can that this can happen. And so initially 0:24:17.040 --> 0:24:18.880 it can rattle you a little bit. A story like 0:24:18.920 --> 0:24:23.040 young Thunders and you go, how can you be in 0:24:23.040 --> 0:24:26.560 church and in Bible school? And it like, how is 0:24:26.560 --> 0:24:28.479 that possible? But then when you really think about it, 0:24:28.480 --> 0:24:34.080 you go, oh wow. Like that can be that's prevalent. 0:24:34.359 --> 0:24:40.600 Prevalent is prevalent because of how we have culture ized Christianity. 0:24:40.720 --> 0:24:45.680 It's a profound statement. We have cultural Christianity, and we've 0:24:45.680 --> 0:24:48.960 got a, a almost a code of behavior that you 0:24:48.960 --> 0:24:52.479 can fly under the radar and do a lot of 0:24:52.480 --> 0:24:57.000 Christian things without being born again. And I use Christian 0:24:57.000 --> 0:25:01.000 things in air quotes because, man, that's a misnomer. Uh, 0:25:01.080 --> 0:25:04.800 the the the interesting thing here, the word Christian is 0:25:04.800 --> 0:25:07.680 used three times in the New Testament if you're studying 0:25:07.680 --> 0:25:10.840 the ESV. And the interesting thing about the word Christian 0:25:10.840 --> 0:25:13.160 is that anytime it was used in the New Testament, 0:25:13.160 --> 0:25:15.520 what did it mean, guys? What was coming on the 0:25:15.520 --> 0:25:18.159 heels of being called a little Christ is what they 0:25:18.160 --> 0:25:18.639 were called. 0:25:18.680 --> 0:25:19.720 Persecution. 0:25:19.760 --> 0:25:24.800 Persecution or death. So to claim the name of Jesus 0:25:25.200 --> 0:25:28.920 and to be Christian back in the day was poof. 0:25:29.680 --> 0:25:32.400 And so Christians not the best descriptors. As a matter 0:25:32.400 --> 0:25:35.320 of fact believer, we often look at that word and 0:25:35.320 --> 0:25:38.080 we go, believer. Is that is that a good word? 0:25:38.080 --> 0:25:41.280 It's a good word insomuch as you believe unto salvation 0:25:41.280 --> 0:25:44.040 the demons believe and they tremble, according to James, the 0:25:44.080 --> 0:25:46.719 half brother of Jesus. So then you got to ask 0:25:46.720 --> 0:25:48.199 the question, well, Carl, what in the world is the 0:25:48.200 --> 0:25:52.879 best descriptor ready for this 369 times in the New Testament, 0:25:52.880 --> 0:25:56.879 the word follower or disciple is used. It's the best 0:25:56.880 --> 0:26:00.520 descriptor of having authentic faith with Christ. It means that 0:26:00.520 --> 0:26:03.040 when you put your feet on the rug, you are 0:26:03.040 --> 0:26:06.640 very imperfect, but you know that your Savior lives, the 0:26:06.640 --> 0:26:10.880 tomb is empty and you are following Jesus Christ. And 0:26:10.880 --> 0:26:14.360 so the most descriptive word is, are you a follower 0:26:14.359 --> 0:26:18.520 of Jesus Christ? Have you surrendered all to him, gotten 0:26:18.520 --> 0:26:21.400 off that broad path? And on this new path, are 0:26:21.400 --> 0:26:24.800 we stumbling and bumbling? Yeah, I've got sacred scars that 0:26:24.800 --> 0:26:31.400 prove you can be born again and have great lessons 0:26:31.400 --> 0:26:35.570 to be learned and great grace still needed. That's the 0:26:35.570 --> 0:26:40.970 beauty of being a disciple of Christ. What's on your heart, 0:26:40.970 --> 0:26:41.690 young thunder? 0:26:42.690 --> 0:26:46.970 I think that it's so important to talk about the 0:26:46.970 --> 0:26:51.330 follow aspect, not pharisaical like you got to jump through 0:26:51.330 --> 0:26:57.090 these hoops to be good with God, but a relationship 0:26:57.090 --> 0:27:01.050 with him isn't punching a time card and saying okay, 0:27:01.050 --> 0:27:06.050 bye bye. You know, it's what is. What is your 0:27:06.050 --> 0:27:11.330 relationship with your spouse, your best friend look like? It's 0:27:11.770 --> 0:27:14.570 you want to spend time with him because of who 0:27:14.609 --> 0:27:19.649 they are. You want to follow them because you know 0:27:19.690 --> 0:27:25.170 that's the the best route. Because you know there's joy there. 0:27:25.650 --> 0:27:30.770 And with Jesus, there's life there. You you want a 0:27:30.770 --> 0:27:32.850 relationship with them. You. You want to grow with them. 0:27:32.850 --> 0:27:35.770 You want to walk with them. It's not just. Thanks. See? 0:27:35.770 --> 0:27:38.010 I'll see you when I get there. You know, he's 0:27:38.010 --> 0:27:40.169 here for us today, and he wants. He wants to 0:27:40.170 --> 0:27:43.129 be a part of your life. Yeah, and going to 0:27:43.170 --> 0:27:48.210 church once a week isn't checking any box. Isn't cutting it. Yeah. 0:27:49.369 --> 0:27:52.169 Yeah, it's it's crazy because you look at Matthew seven, 0:27:52.609 --> 0:27:56.770 the very passage that young thunder, I get such a 0:27:56.770 --> 0:27:58.810 kick out of it when he shares his story in 0:27:58.810 --> 0:28:02.530 his mind. He was saying, shut up, Carl and Ali. 0:28:03.010 --> 0:28:04.850 Shut up with this stuff. 0:28:05.050 --> 0:28:05.450 Yeah. 0:28:06.530 --> 0:28:10.210 Yeah. And and yet God in his grace used Matthew seven, 0:28:10.210 --> 0:28:12.729 which is this classic passage in the sermon on the 0:28:12.730 --> 0:28:15.970 Mount that just says, many will say to me on 0:28:16.010 --> 0:28:18.050 that day, Lord, Lord, and he's going to say, I 0:28:18.050 --> 0:28:22.090 never knew you. And it's it's like sobering. But wouldn't 0:28:22.090 --> 0:28:26.130 you rather hear the truth now than later? 0:28:26.570 --> 0:28:32.169 Yeah, I I'll say this, that if you're feeling convicted 0:28:32.170 --> 0:28:38.050 with that today, there's also almost a sure chance that 0:28:38.690 --> 0:28:43.570 you are feeling very afraid of. What are people going 0:28:43.610 --> 0:28:47.130 to think? I've. I've been in the church for years. 0:28:47.810 --> 0:28:49.530 This is going to people are going to be upset. 0:28:49.530 --> 0:28:51.570 People are not going to like me. They're going to 0:28:51.570 --> 0:28:53.610 turn away from me because they're going to be freaked out. 0:28:54.090 --> 0:28:57.330 I'm going to be embarrassed. All those things come into 0:28:57.330 --> 0:28:58.010 your mind. 0:28:58.290 --> 0:28:59.650 There's a Greek word for that. 0:29:00.250 --> 0:29:00.970 What's that? 0:29:01.010 --> 0:29:01.770 Baloney. 0:29:01.810 --> 0:29:07.530 Baloney. It's true. Anyone who's worth spending a lot of 0:29:07.530 --> 0:29:11.050 time with, anyone who knows Jesus really is not going 0:29:11.050 --> 0:29:15.650 to be upset with you for that. They're going to 0:29:15.650 --> 0:29:18.730 rejoice with you. They're going to party with you because 0:29:18.730 --> 0:29:21.530 they know you know Jesus. And if they love Jesus, 0:29:21.530 --> 0:29:23.450 that's all they care about. At the end of the day, 0:29:23.770 --> 0:29:27.530 they may have questions, answer them for them, and they'll 0:29:27.530 --> 0:29:28.450 rejoice with you. 0:29:32.220 --> 0:29:37.860 I was lost and I'm found. Yeah. It's a beautiful thing. 0:29:37.900 --> 0:29:41.100 Coming up in three minutes. Listen, with the Spirit of 0:29:41.100 --> 0:29:43.220 God is doing here today, and we're grateful for so 0:29:43.220 --> 0:29:46.020 many surrendering their lives to Jesus today. Boy, I feel 0:29:46.020 --> 0:29:52.380 prompted right now. Somebody's listening right now. You have cultural Christianity, 0:29:52.380 --> 0:29:55.540 but you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ today. 0:29:55.540 --> 0:30:01.820 That can be changed. How? By turning around and repenting 0:30:01.820 --> 0:30:05.140 of your sin and turning your life over to Jesus Christ, 0:30:05.140 --> 0:30:10.900 fully and completely holding nothing back. If the truest expression 0:30:10.900 --> 0:30:13.500 of your heart today is God set me free from 0:30:13.500 --> 0:30:17.620 cultural Christianity, I want to know Jesus personally. Praise God. 0:30:17.620 --> 0:30:24.540 God's spirit convicted you of that need. We didn't. But 0:30:24.540 --> 0:30:26.540 don't harden your heart when you hear the voice of 0:30:26.540 --> 0:30:30.700 God today. Surrender it all to Jesus and just confess 0:30:30.700 --> 0:30:36.420 to him. Jesus, I need you. Help me turn your 0:30:36.420 --> 0:30:38.580 life around today. Is that you, my friend? You're saying 0:30:38.620 --> 0:30:43.780 today I repent. Today I claim that the life that 0:30:43.780 --> 0:30:47.060 Jesus lived and the death he died. He died for me, 0:30:47.100 --> 0:30:50.700 for my sins. It's a powerful thing when you confess 0:30:51.020 --> 0:30:55.580 with sober mind and heart. I'm a sinner and I 0:30:55.580 --> 0:31:04.140 need a savior. Wow. And if that's you today, you 0:31:04.140 --> 0:31:07.140 don't even. You don't need to go one more step 0:31:07.140 --> 0:31:13.540 except to your knees and surrender all to Jesus. Just say, God, 0:31:13.580 --> 0:31:15.500 I give it all to you today. And this is 0:31:15.500 --> 0:31:17.540 if this is you, my friend, that you are repenting 0:31:17.540 --> 0:31:19.820 of your sin and you know you've been stuck in 0:31:19.820 --> 0:31:22.500 a cultural Christianity, we're going to hear your thunder story 0:31:22.500 --> 0:31:26.460 again in just a few minutes here. But if that's 0:31:26.460 --> 0:31:29.540 you right now, you don't have to wait. The story 0:31:29.540 --> 0:31:31.420 is being written in your heart right now, and Jesus 0:31:31.420 --> 0:31:35.580 is saying, I'm going to breathe life into your deadness. 0:31:36.420 --> 0:31:41.740 My life. And you are being crucified with Christ. It's 0:31:41.740 --> 0:31:43.820 no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in 0:31:43.860 --> 0:31:45.980 you and the life you now live in the flesh. 0:31:46.460 --> 0:31:49.140 You live by faith in the Son of God. And 0:31:49.140 --> 0:31:54.740 he's changing you, my friend. It's just a declaration. It's 0:31:54.740 --> 0:31:57.860 not a fancy prayer. It's saying today all to Jesus. 0:31:57.860 --> 0:32:00.940 I surrender every bit of it. I'm turning around off 0:32:00.940 --> 0:32:03.660 this broad path. I believe Jesus died for my sins. 0:32:03.660 --> 0:32:07.500 And today I declare he is my leader. I'm going 0:32:07.500 --> 0:32:11.140 to follow him. And if that's you right now, we 0:32:11.140 --> 0:32:15.940 want to help you with a phenomenal little simple resource 0:32:15.940 --> 0:32:17.460 that's going to tell you how to find a church 0:32:17.460 --> 0:32:19.780 with people in it. Maybe you don't have one of those, 0:32:19.780 --> 0:32:22.380 maybe you do, but maybe you don't. And you need 0:32:22.380 --> 0:32:24.660 to find a church that's got a resource. What to 0:32:24.700 --> 0:32:26.420 look for in a church with people that are going 0:32:26.460 --> 0:32:28.990 to help you walk with God. A Bible to find 0:32:28.990 --> 0:32:32.070 that you can read and understand. And then a resource 0:32:32.070 --> 0:32:33.990 we're going to send your way on how to walk 0:32:33.990 --> 0:32:38.670 in God's power. And if that's you right now, I 0:32:38.670 --> 0:32:41.350 just want you to text the word new right now, 0:32:41.390 --> 0:32:46.310 800 555 7898 and as Young Thunder said, and it's true, Ali, 0:32:46.470 --> 0:32:51.870 don't the the people that you fear might not understand 0:32:51.870 --> 0:32:53.470 that maybe you've been in church, you might have been 0:32:53.470 --> 0:32:55.110 an elder, you might have been a pastor. I've seen 0:32:55.110 --> 0:32:59.310 worship leaders, pastors, elders surrender to Jesus Christ after years 0:32:59.310 --> 0:33:05.670 of being in cultural Christianity. It happens. But do not 0:33:05.670 --> 0:33:09.550 let fear of man hold you back from a relationship 0:33:09.550 --> 0:33:15.510 with God. Just text the word new today 800 555 7898. 0:33:15.830 --> 0:33:21.750 Just new to 800 555 7898. I'm going to give 0:33:21.750 --> 0:33:23.710 you a word here, Ali. Something's on your heart. 0:33:24.030 --> 0:33:27.670 You know, I just saw one more come in. And, 0:33:27.710 --> 0:33:32.110 you know, sometimes it's there's a spiritual war. There's an 0:33:32.110 --> 0:33:36.230 opposition to this, to this message because it shakes you. 0:33:36.230 --> 0:33:39.270 It causes you to look at things that maybe you 0:33:39.270 --> 0:33:42.110 haven't wanted to look at. It causes you to assess 0:33:42.270 --> 0:33:45.030 your life in a way that can be uncomfortable. But 0:33:45.630 --> 0:33:48.630 as Young Thunder says, there's there's freedom on the other 0:33:48.630 --> 0:33:49.550 side of that. 0:33:50.550 --> 0:33:58.030 Amen. Just text new to 855 five 7898. We'll shout 0:33:58.030 --> 0:34:08.830 out the last four numbers. They're pouring in again. 70, 14, 26. 17, 95. 95. 50. 1454. 55. 0:34:08.830 --> 0:34:10.069 Welcome to the family. 0:34:10.390 --> 0:34:13.110 You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't 0:34:13.150 --> 0:34:16.989 take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew. 0:34:17.190 --> 0:34:19.790 It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:34:19.989 --> 0:34:23.750 Jesus looked at a very bitter older brother of the 0:34:24.190 --> 0:34:30.070 son that came home. The story is of a wealthy man. 0:34:30.510 --> 0:34:35.069 Young son squandered his inheritance. Victim of his passion. Older son. 0:34:35.070 --> 0:34:38.870 Victim of his pride. Both separated from God. But he 0:34:38.870 --> 0:34:40.830 looked at that older brother and he said. Listen, this. 0:34:40.830 --> 0:34:44.870 This brother of yours, he was lost and is found. 0:34:45.230 --> 0:34:48.189 We had to celebrate, and that's what we're going to do. 0:34:48.230 --> 0:34:50.910 We've had so many scores, hundreds of people surrendered to 0:34:50.950 --> 0:34:54.790 Jesus this week. As we share our stories of God's 0:34:54.790 --> 0:34:57.109 grace in our own life, and I'm just going to 0:34:57.110 --> 0:34:58.870 shout out the last four numbers that have come in 0:34:58.870 --> 0:35:01.670 in the last minutes here. Surrendering to Jesus for the 0:35:01.670 --> 0:35:04.870 first time. This is just in the last. Goodness sake. Seven, eight, 0:35:04.870 --> 0:35:14.149 nine minutes max here. 20, 87, 23, 98, 71, 92. 0:35:14.190 --> 0:35:16.989 These are people coming out of the shadows of cultural 0:35:16.989 --> 0:35:22.270 Christianity and into the light of Jesus receiving Christ and 0:35:22.270 --> 0:35:30.360 life for the first time, 87, 84, 39, oh five, 47, 55, 0:35:31.040 --> 0:35:41.200 zero eight, 44, 66, oh six, 30, 63, 26, 64, 73, 0:35:41.239 --> 0:35:45.319 oh six, 97, 71. Pick it up. 0:35:45.800 --> 0:35:57.120 36, 33, 82, 98, 79, oh one, 82, 89, 82, 34, 54, 97. 0:35:57.120 --> 0:35:59.360 Reading out the last four digits of your phone number. 0:35:59.360 --> 0:36:01.960 Those of you who texted new. Welcome to the family 0:36:02.000 --> 0:36:10.960 6419 4709, 80, 85 4812. Welcome to the family 2719 0:36:11.200 --> 0:36:31.040 6807 0750 1254. Welcome 57, 38, 99, 48, 29, 2299. 84, 1440. 5275. 9984. 0:36:31.080 --> 0:36:31.920 Go ahead. Carl. 0:36:32.640 --> 0:36:57.160 1969. 9145. 1356. 2123. 1393 3320 203 83. 1878, 56, 78, 0:36:57.719 --> 0:37:12.200 zero zero, 1899, 72, 88, 65, 81, 97, 31, 86, 58, 15. 0:37:12.200 --> 0:37:14.080 Overwhelming alley. Take it from here. 0:37:14.120 --> 0:37:25.240 6356. Welcome to the family. 77 1099 Nine, 79, 48, 27, 93, 0:37:25.480 --> 0:37:31.279 zero seven, zero nine, 89, 43, 90, 47. Welcome to 0:37:31.320 --> 0:37:43.120 the family 1553, 1702, 1724, 58, 29, zero one, 41, 49, 63. 0:37:43.320 --> 0:37:52.640 Welcome 82, 92, 75, 90, 13, 37, 40, 79, 73, 88. 0:37:53.600 --> 0:37:54.839 Welcome to the family. 0:37:57.200 --> 0:38:02.880 I'm going to read on here 3570 zero six, 31, 0:38:03.360 --> 0:38:12.080 2395 9914 welcome to the family. Wow. We are so 0:38:12.080 --> 0:38:17.800 grateful for the spirit of the living God who convicts 0:38:18.000 --> 0:38:21.210 and then comforts right on the heels of conviction, of 0:38:21.210 --> 0:38:24.290 a need to come out of cultural Christianity and into 0:38:24.330 --> 0:38:26.250 faith in Christ. Overwhelming. 0:38:26.450 --> 0:38:28.529 Quick. A quick question that came in by text. I 0:38:28.530 --> 0:38:30.170 think it's a good one to answer. What do we 0:38:30.170 --> 0:38:32.529 mean when we say cultural Christianity? 0:38:33.050 --> 0:38:37.569 Cultural Christianity is all the trappings, some of which we've 0:38:37.610 --> 0:38:41.649 adopted along the way. Simply put, if Jesus said, you 0:38:41.650 --> 0:38:44.009 can baptize in the name of Jesus and do mighty 0:38:44.050 --> 0:38:47.930 works in the name of Jesus, it's possible to it's 0:38:47.930 --> 0:38:51.930 possible to do a lot of things that appear Christian, 0:38:52.410 --> 0:38:55.330 but you're not yet born again. Jesus warned of it. 0:38:55.330 --> 0:38:58.170 And it's it's possible. And it can be things like 0:38:58.570 --> 0:39:02.129 going to church regularly, looking to serve, looking to be 0:39:02.130 --> 0:39:06.450 a part of different things. The regenerating power of Jesus 0:39:06.450 --> 0:39:10.890 by the unction of the Holy Spirit is is not 0:39:10.890 --> 0:39:17.130 a a system that you're into. It's a Savior that 0:39:17.170 --> 0:39:21.210 invades you and a lot of cultural Christians have stepped 0:39:21.210 --> 0:39:26.210 into a system of Christianity. But Jesus is not about systems, 0:39:26.210 --> 0:39:26.890 is he, Ali? 0:39:26.930 --> 0:39:29.730 No and no. And we think, when you think about Scripture, 0:39:29.730 --> 0:39:34.529 how often Jesus pushed back against the religious, the quote 0:39:34.530 --> 0:39:39.290 unquote religious people who were doing all kind of things, 0:39:39.290 --> 0:39:42.370 jumping through all kinds of hoops. And he kept trying 0:39:42.370 --> 0:39:45.930 to draw the contrast between, no, it's not about trying 0:39:45.930 --> 0:39:48.250 to live life by the law. It's not trying to 0:39:48.290 --> 0:39:51.770 earn your way to me. And for some, that was 0:39:51.810 --> 0:39:54.609 it was too much like they were like, no, this 0:39:54.610 --> 0:39:57.489 is we want a king. We want someone who's going 0:39:57.530 --> 0:39:59.890 to come and give us power now. 0:40:00.210 --> 0:40:03.770 Yeah, you're right on. You know, I want to state 0:40:03.770 --> 0:40:06.890 this again. I think this is really important. The word 0:40:06.890 --> 0:40:11.130 Christian used to really mean something. And I'll tell you 0:40:11.130 --> 0:40:14.490 when it meant something 2000 years ago, it meant something 0:40:14.489 --> 0:40:17.169 big time. In the New Testament, you find the word 0:40:17.170 --> 0:40:20.650 Christian three times every time it's mentioned on the heels 0:40:20.650 --> 0:40:23.370 of the context of being called little Christs is what 0:40:23.370 --> 0:40:28.210 that means is there was a risk of, well, there 0:40:28.210 --> 0:40:31.130 were certain persecution. There was a risk of being killed 0:40:31.330 --> 0:40:34.330 because you claimed the name of Jesus. So the stakes 0:40:34.330 --> 0:40:37.730 were high. It wasn't easy to slide into a cultural system. 0:40:37.730 --> 0:40:40.170 The stakes were so high that it caused people who 0:40:40.170 --> 0:40:42.730 were really not in Christ to say, yeah, I'm out. 0:40:42.770 --> 0:40:46.490 And and that's true in many places across the globe. 0:40:46.810 --> 0:40:49.609 Thank you for mentioning that. We are we have this 0:40:49.610 --> 0:40:54.730 great little bubble experiment going on here in America, and 0:40:55.410 --> 0:40:59.250 we've almost let the very blessings of God keep us 0:40:59.250 --> 0:41:02.370 from the power of God. And we've created a system 0:41:02.610 --> 0:41:06.609 that almost inoculates people to the real gospel. That's the 0:41:06.610 --> 0:41:11.050 great danger that we have. The word believers used 11 0:41:11.050 --> 0:41:13.690 times in the New Testament. It's not even the primary word. 0:41:13.690 --> 0:41:16.370 Did Jesus say you must believe? Yeah, but the primary 0:41:16.370 --> 0:41:20.210 word Jesus used to describe authentic faith was when he 0:41:20.210 --> 0:41:24.290 called people, follow me. Be a disciple of mine. It's 0:41:24.290 --> 0:41:29.450 used over 360 times in the Scriptures New Testament. So 0:41:29.610 --> 0:41:31.089 what does that mean? It means when you get up 0:41:31.090 --> 0:41:33.730 in the morning, you know that the tomb is empty. 0:41:33.770 --> 0:41:36.170 You're alive in Christ, and you're going to stumble and 0:41:36.170 --> 0:41:39.050 you're going to skin your knees, but you're on a path, 0:41:39.090 --> 0:41:41.489 a road less traveled. And that's what God wants for 0:41:41.489 --> 0:41:45.170 you today. Coming up here in a couple of minutes, 0:41:45.210 --> 0:41:48.170 Doctor Michael Radonich pitching him a question, we're going to 0:41:48.170 --> 0:41:50.930 ask him, what's God doing in your life lately? 0:41:51.290 --> 0:41:55.130 You're going to hear that. Plus his response to a major, 0:41:55.130 --> 0:41:57.850 major incident that's been in the news the last couple 0:41:57.890 --> 0:41:58.330 of days. 0:41:58.770 --> 0:42:03.330 She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her. 0:42:03.770 --> 0:42:07.490 Super di is in the crew. It's Carl and crew 0:42:07.530 --> 0:42:08.810 on Moody Radio. 0:42:08.930 --> 0:42:11.450 All you got to do is look at acts 26. 0:42:11.450 --> 0:42:14.930 And what do you find, Paul? Before King Agrippa and 0:42:14.930 --> 0:42:17.979 I love this story. It's a great witnessing tool. You 0:42:17.980 --> 0:42:21.779 see Paul in three minutes and about 10s if you 0:42:21.780 --> 0:42:24.580 actually do it. Reading speed. Not that I timed it exactly, 0:42:24.580 --> 0:42:28.140 but I did. And you see him make a defense 0:42:28.140 --> 0:42:32.339 of the gospel talking pre-christ how he met Christ on 0:42:32.340 --> 0:42:35.739 the Damascus Road. And the best part? What God is 0:42:35.739 --> 0:42:39.500 doing to this very day. Verse 22. And we've got 0:42:39.500 --> 0:42:41.859 a man with us who's God is helping to this 0:42:41.860 --> 0:42:42.900 very day. Ali. 0:42:42.940 --> 0:42:46.340 Doctor Michael Reidel, Nick, professor here at Moody Bible Institute, 0:42:46.340 --> 0:42:49.340 also host of Open Line. We want to hear it. 0:42:49.380 --> 0:42:53.580 What's the fresh thing from your most recent quiet time 0:42:53.580 --> 0:42:55.779 with the Lord that he's doing in you? 0:42:55.820 --> 0:42:56.540 I love it, I'm. 0:42:56.540 --> 0:42:59.899 Going to comment on Paul before Agrippa. I just think 0:42:59.940 --> 0:43:02.299 one of the more interesting things to do is look 0:43:02.340 --> 0:43:07.580 at Paul's speeches in acts. When he's before Felix and Festus, 0:43:07.620 --> 0:43:11.700 he talks about his changed life. He talks about the resurrection, 0:43:12.260 --> 0:43:16.140 but he does not talk about the Hebrew Scriptures put 0:43:16.140 --> 0:43:18.580 him in front of a Jewish king like Agrippa. Put 0:43:18.580 --> 0:43:21.060 him in front of a Jewish audience. He talks about 0:43:21.060 --> 0:43:23.180 the Hebrew Bible. It is one of the great lessons 0:43:23.180 --> 0:43:27.580 for evangelism. There is that we understand our audience and 0:43:27.580 --> 0:43:30.460 communicate in the terms that they need to hear. 0:43:30.500 --> 0:43:33.819 Tremendous. That's a great observation. Uh, quick question before you 0:43:33.820 --> 0:43:36.620 get into your devotional story and your quiet time with God. 0:43:37.100 --> 0:43:39.819 How do we get some of those observations? How do 0:43:39.820 --> 0:43:42.460 you look at the word and begin to see those nuances? 0:43:42.500 --> 0:43:43.340 How do you do that? 0:43:43.780 --> 0:43:45.660 Well, I'll tell you how I learned about that is 0:43:45.660 --> 0:43:48.780 I took Bible study methods with a guy named Howard Hendricks. 0:43:48.780 --> 0:43:49.660 May have heard of him. 0:43:50.140 --> 0:43:50.420 Uh. 0:43:51.300 --> 0:43:53.700 The way he made us do it was first day 0:43:53.700 --> 0:43:55.420 of class. He said, I want you to go home tonight, 0:43:55.420 --> 0:43:58.540 and I want you to make 25 observations on acts 0:43:58.540 --> 0:44:02.780 one eight. It doesn't matter what they are. At least 25. 0:44:02.820 --> 0:44:03.700 Write them down. 0:44:03.780 --> 0:44:04.940 On one verse. 0:44:05.180 --> 0:44:06.020 On one verse. 0:44:06.260 --> 0:44:06.780 Wow. 0:44:07.060 --> 0:44:11.700 Yeah. And anything. It's like, what is the conjunction here? 0:44:11.739 --> 0:44:15.259 What is the geographical locations? You know, you're looking for 0:44:15.260 --> 0:44:17.540 all these things and you're writing them down. And he says, 0:44:17.540 --> 0:44:19.740 if you have a question about what it means, write 0:44:19.739 --> 0:44:22.660 that down. That counts as an observation. And he said, 0:44:22.700 --> 0:44:24.940 take a piece of paper, fold it in half on 0:44:24.940 --> 0:44:28.180 the left side what you're observing on the right side. 0:44:28.180 --> 0:44:31.859 Write your questions and just write 25 at least, he said. 0:44:31.860 --> 0:44:35.620 So I did 37 that night. And because, you know, 0:44:35.620 --> 0:44:37.460 I was I was driven by grades. I wanted to 0:44:37.460 --> 0:44:39.980 get a better grade. And the second day of class, 0:44:39.980 --> 0:44:42.219 he says, okay, for tonight, what I want you to 0:44:42.219 --> 0:44:46.860 do for your homework is make 25 new observations on 0:44:46.860 --> 0:44:51.140 acts one eight. If you did more than 25 last time, 0:44:51.140 --> 0:44:55.540 they don't count. Uh, you have to have 25 more. 0:44:55.780 --> 0:44:59.340 And so I did about 30 the second night. And 0:44:59.380 --> 0:45:03.220 it's looking for the most detailed minor thing to observe. 0:45:03.260 --> 0:45:07.100 And you read so carefully that the result is that 0:45:07.100 --> 0:45:10.620 pretty soon you start noticing things that are are significant. 0:45:10.660 --> 0:45:13.300 Wow. That's a perfect setup. Tell us what you noticed 0:45:13.390 --> 0:45:14.190 this morning. 0:45:14.350 --> 0:45:17.990 Well, for me, I read a couple of passages from 0:45:17.989 --> 0:45:20.670 the Hebrew Bible in the morning and two from the 0:45:20.670 --> 0:45:26.150 New Testament. So today I was reading in first Thessalonians four. 0:45:26.390 --> 0:45:30.109 And it's kind of interesting because it says in first 0:45:30.110 --> 0:45:34.870 Thessalonians four he says in verse one, finally, brothers, we 0:45:34.870 --> 0:45:37.390 ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as 0:45:37.390 --> 0:45:40.990 you've received from us how you must walk and please 0:45:40.989 --> 0:45:44.390 God as you are doing, notice as you are doing, 0:45:44.830 --> 0:45:47.670 do so. Even more so, he says, you have to 0:45:47.710 --> 0:45:50.070 walk to please God. You have to love God basically, 0:45:50.070 --> 0:45:52.390 and walk in a way that pleases him and you're 0:45:52.390 --> 0:45:55.509 doing it do even more. And then I was continuing 0:45:55.550 --> 0:45:58.989 to read, and in verse nine he says about brotherly love, 0:45:59.030 --> 0:46:00.710 you don't need me to write to you, because you 0:46:00.750 --> 0:46:03.990 yourselves are taught by God to love one another. And 0:46:03.989 --> 0:46:07.549 he says, in fact, you are doing this. He says, 0:46:07.550 --> 0:46:10.830 you're already loving the brothers, but we encourage you, brothers 0:46:11.070 --> 0:46:15.750 to do so even more so. What's the basic truth 0:46:15.750 --> 0:46:18.830 that Jesus taught about living the life for God? Love God. 0:46:18.870 --> 0:46:22.870 Love people? These two exhortations Paul says, you're loving God. 0:46:22.870 --> 0:46:28.950 You're loving people, but do so even more. Never get lax. 0:46:28.989 --> 0:46:31.509 And what struck me, too is that another thing I'm doing. 0:46:31.510 --> 0:46:34.510 I'm reading through a book about the book of Hebrews, 0:46:34.830 --> 0:46:37.870 and I was up to Hebrews two one through four 0:46:38.190 --> 0:46:41.629 about the danger of slip sliding away, the danger of drifting. 0:46:41.910 --> 0:46:45.630 And he talked about all the dangers of how it 0:46:45.630 --> 0:46:48.070 is that we drift in our walk with the Lord. 0:46:48.630 --> 0:46:51.109 One of the ways we drift is we start coasting. 0:46:51.590 --> 0:46:54.509 Doctor Michael Riedel, our guest right now, I wanted you 0:46:54.510 --> 0:46:58.989 to respond to the terrorist attack that happened in Boulder, Colorado, 0:46:59.030 --> 0:47:01.750 a couple of days ago. There's a lot of fallout 0:47:01.750 --> 0:47:05.149 from this. I'm not sure all of it's good. What 0:47:05.150 --> 0:47:08.270 are your thoughts initially when you heard this, being a 0:47:08.270 --> 0:47:13.750 messianic Jewish disciple of Jesus. And how should we respond 0:47:13.750 --> 0:47:14.750 as Christ followers? 0:47:15.350 --> 0:47:18.750 The first question is why is this happening? And the 0:47:18.750 --> 0:47:24.710 reason it's happening is because of blood libels, false charges 0:47:24.950 --> 0:47:28.190 against Israel. That's one of the things that really bothers 0:47:28.190 --> 0:47:31.350 me the most. It's not that people just disagree with Israel. 0:47:31.390 --> 0:47:34.910 They disagree with what Israel isn't really doing. Yeah, and 0:47:34.910 --> 0:47:38.350 modern day blood libels are that Israel is committing genocide 0:47:38.350 --> 0:47:41.910 in Gaza. There is no genocide in Gaza. Even when 0:47:41.950 --> 0:47:46.390 Israel is giving food, it's not the right agency. It 0:47:46.390 --> 0:47:49.430 should be given through the UN, not through Israel. Well, 0:47:49.469 --> 0:47:51.310 part of the reason why Israel is doing it is 0:47:51.310 --> 0:47:53.989 because the UN was allowing Hamas to steal it and 0:47:53.989 --> 0:47:58.149 charge exorbitant prices to the people of Gaza to get it, 0:47:58.150 --> 0:48:01.750 and funding Hamas this way. So it doesn't matter what 0:48:01.750 --> 0:48:04.790 Israel is doing, right? It is being portrayed as wicked 0:48:04.790 --> 0:48:07.109 and wrong. And as a result, there are all these 0:48:07.110 --> 0:48:10.640 people who are now being motivated through these blood libels 0:48:10.640 --> 0:48:12.360 to take evil actions. 0:48:12.360 --> 0:48:15.480 There's even false reporting with regard to the gunning down 0:48:15.480 --> 0:48:18.960 of 23 innocent lives in Gaza. That didn't happen 48 0:48:18.960 --> 0:48:21.440 hours ago. It didn't happen. And yet it's all over 0:48:21.440 --> 0:48:23.560 mainstream news. So how do you fight that? 0:48:23.600 --> 0:48:27.200 Of course, what Mark Twain said, you know, is a 0:48:27.239 --> 0:48:29.319 lie is halfway around the world before the truth can 0:48:29.320 --> 0:48:31.400 put on its shoes and leave. But we have to 0:48:31.440 --> 0:48:34.120 get out there as much as we can with the truth. 0:48:34.120 --> 0:48:36.440 And one of the things that Israel does is when 0:48:36.440 --> 0:48:39.560 a charge like that comes up, the Israeli military doesn't 0:48:39.560 --> 0:48:41.680 say right away it didn't happen. They say, well, we'll 0:48:41.680 --> 0:48:44.600 investigate this. We don't know. But what happens is, in 0:48:44.600 --> 0:48:46.879 the time that Israel is checking it out, the lie 0:48:46.920 --> 0:48:50.319 goes all around the world. And that's what the problem is. 0:48:50.360 --> 0:48:53.160 And so we need to be active in promoting the truth. 0:48:53.160 --> 0:48:55.600 I was talking to a believer, a really godly believer 0:48:55.600 --> 0:48:58.680 who loves says God has a great future for Israel. 0:48:58.719 --> 0:49:00.560 He says, but of course we can't agree with what 0:49:00.560 --> 0:49:03.080 Israel is doing now. I said, why not? If you 0:49:03.120 --> 0:49:06.799 were attacked, wouldn't you defend your your nation? And he said, yeah, 0:49:06.800 --> 0:49:09.520 but aren't they going too far? It's because he's listening 0:49:09.560 --> 0:49:10.320 to the media. 0:49:10.920 --> 0:49:13.080 I've got one caveat to throw in here. You are 0:49:13.080 --> 0:49:18.600 not saying that the IDF is absent of any bad 0:49:18.600 --> 0:49:21.680 apples in the crew. No, you would not claim that. 0:49:21.719 --> 0:49:22.440 I am claiming. 0:49:22.480 --> 0:49:24.000 This to make sure we're saying this. 0:49:24.000 --> 0:49:29.840 There is there is no military that is more committed 0:49:29.840 --> 0:49:32.839 to doing what is right than Israel. It is, I 0:49:32.840 --> 0:49:35.600 think it's not the most moral, but there is no 0:49:35.640 --> 0:49:38.520 military that is more moral. I think just as the 0:49:38.520 --> 0:49:43.240 United States trains our soldiers to do the right thing, 0:49:43.400 --> 0:49:47.960 to put others first and take care of civilians, that's true. 0:49:48.000 --> 0:49:51.359 We do that. But are there bad apples? Absolutely. Same 0:49:51.360 --> 0:49:53.600 thing with Israel. There may be a bad apple here 0:49:53.600 --> 0:49:57.080 and there, but that is not the norm. And Israeli 0:49:57.080 --> 0:50:00.960 soldiers that act out are governed by the military and 0:50:00.960 --> 0:50:02.640 they are dealt with. And the reason I know this, 0:50:02.680 --> 0:50:05.239 my son, when he served in the Israel Defense Forces 0:50:05.239 --> 0:50:08.919 and he was in a special forces anti-terrorist unit, he 0:50:08.920 --> 0:50:12.959 said they had more training on ethics and morality than 0:50:12.960 --> 0:50:14.400 they had on warfare. 0:50:14.840 --> 0:50:18.360 Interesting, Michael. That's a I'm glad you threw that in. 0:50:18.400 --> 0:50:22.000 That's important piece. How do we respond as Christ followers 0:50:22.000 --> 0:50:22.600 to this? 0:50:22.840 --> 0:50:26.000 Do our best to get the truth. Secondly, with anti-Semitic 0:50:26.000 --> 0:50:29.279 events like this, I think we have to prosecute our government. 0:50:29.320 --> 0:50:32.399 You know what happened with the campus protests? People would 0:50:32.400 --> 0:50:38.760 be arrested for taking over buildings, defacing, doing things like that, vandalism, 0:50:38.760 --> 0:50:41.800 and then they'd be released and there would be no prosecution. 0:50:41.800 --> 0:50:45.120 Charges would be dropped. So that's really important that we 0:50:45.120 --> 0:50:48.080 prosecute people, because the more you get away with that, 0:50:48.120 --> 0:50:50.680 which gets rewarded, gets repeated. And so now people are 0:50:50.680 --> 0:50:54.160 getting more violent because everything else was being allowed. The 0:50:54.160 --> 0:50:58.120 other thing that happens is even people who were sentenced to, 0:50:58.160 --> 0:51:01.560 for example, community service for assaulting a Jewish person on 0:51:01.560 --> 0:51:06.040 campus right at Harvard, then they're honored later on, a 0:51:06.040 --> 0:51:10.489 year later after being convicted of a crime of assault 0:51:10.690 --> 0:51:13.810 and battery. They are then rewarded, so we have to 0:51:13.810 --> 0:51:17.890 be careful not to reward those who break the law. 0:51:18.170 --> 0:51:20.609 I think we have to take seriously that this is 0:51:20.610 --> 0:51:24.370 a real problem, and if we don't deal with it immediately, 0:51:24.370 --> 0:51:26.930 it's going to get worse and worse. And the murderer 0:51:26.969 --> 0:51:30.609 of the two workers at the Israel Embassy a couple 0:51:30.610 --> 0:51:33.410 of weeks ago. Yeah, they have to be prosecuted to 0:51:33.450 --> 0:51:36.250 the full extent of the law because otherwise it's going 0:51:36.250 --> 0:51:38.810 to keep being repeated. But the most important thing we 0:51:38.810 --> 0:51:42.170 can do is use whatever voices we have to communicate 0:51:42.170 --> 0:51:45.010 what is true and not the lies that are being 0:51:45.010 --> 0:51:47.690 promoted against Jewish people. We've got to do everything we 0:51:47.690 --> 0:51:49.210 can to keep the truth out there. 0:51:49.610 --> 0:51:51.570 And we pray for peace. 0:51:52.130 --> 0:51:55.450 Oh, this is what I'm praying for. I'm praying for 0:51:55.450 --> 0:51:58.810 the peace of Jerusalem to come through the defeat and 0:51:58.810 --> 0:52:03.290 surrender of Hamas. There can be no peace until Hamas 0:52:03.290 --> 0:52:04.649 gives up its weaponry. 0:52:05.370 --> 0:52:06.969 Michael Ray Dolnick everybody.