S1: Hi friend, thank you so much for downloading this podcast
S1: and I truly hope you hear something that edifies encourage, equips, enlightens,
S1: and then gets you out there in the marketplace of ideas.
S1: But before you go, I want to tell you about
S1: this month's truth tool. It's called Have You Ever Wondered?
S1: And I absolutely love this topic because if you're like me,
S1: going out into the night sky and looking up and
S1: seeing a million stars, don't you just stop and think
S1: about God? And are you not in a moment of
S1: awe and wonder or looking out over the vast expanse
S1: of an ocean and you start thinking, what is man,
S1: that thou art mindful of him? And it makes you
S1: wonder about the magnificence of God? I think that sense
S1: of wonder was put there on purpose, and this wonderful
S1: book includes a composite of multiple authors who have written
S1: from their perspective as a scientist, or a historian, or
S1: a mathematician or an artist, on why they all have
S1: this sense of awe through the work that they do.
S1: In other words, the heavens declare the glory. And as
S1: it tells us in Romans, we are really without excuse
S1: because his handiwork is everywhere. And this book invites you
S1: to walk through the chapters written by people who all
S1: have a sense of awe and wonder when it comes
S1: to God through their various disciplines in life. It's an
S1: amazing book and it's yours. For a gift of any amount.
S1: Just call 877 58. That's 877 Janet 58. Ask for
S1: a copy of Have You Ever Wondered? And we'll send
S1: it right off to you as my way of saying
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S1: can go online to in the market with Janet Parshall
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S1: my partial partner. So 877 Janet 58 or the website
S1: in the market with Janet parshall.org consider becoming a partial
S1: partner or asking for this month's truth tool. Have you
S1: ever wondered? And now please enjoy the broadcast.
S2: Here are some of the news headlines we're watching.
S3: The conference was over. The president won a pledge.
S4: Americans worshiping government over God.
S1: Extremely rare safety move by a major 17 years.
S5: The Palestinians and Israelis negotiated.
S6: By the Bush tax cuts.
S1: Hi, friends. Welcome to In the Market with Janet Parshall.
S1: I'm thrilled. We're going to spend the hour together. You know,
S1: each and every day we start our broadcast with you
S1: hearing the cacophony of the marketplace of ideas. That's why
S1: all of those voices blend together. And we do that
S1: on purpose. This program is designed to get you out there,
S1: to go and tell, to influence and occupy, to let
S1: your light so shine because you just can't keep the
S1: good news to yourself. Like Jeremiah, this message is like
S1: fire in your bones and you want to go out
S1: and share, but we want to help you when you
S1: get there, not to be put off by the vain
S1: and hollow philosophies like the book of Colossians talks about,
S1: that are being bought and sold in the marketplace. And
S1: so one of our jobs, we hope, is to help
S1: you grow up in him, to get off that diet
S1: of milk, move to a diet of meat, get some
S1: spiritual heft on your bones, and really know what you
S1: believe and why you believe it while you are contending
S1: for the faith. It doesn't get any better than that.
S1: By the way, that is what I love to call
S1: the athleticism of the Christian life. And you and I
S1: should be so excited to get up every single morning
S1: and realize that God's given you the precious gift of
S1: another day, which means the potential to be able to
S1: tell his good news to somebody and for you to
S1: experience his grace, his mercy, and his love. Do you know,
S1: before your feet hit the floor this morning, the word
S1: says that he had given you sufficient grace for the day,
S1: that nothing and no one can separate you from his love.
S1: And that, as if that wasn't enough, he's crowned you
S1: with loving kindness and tender mercies. Now, I don't know
S1: about you, but that that's like more than enough. Not
S1: just for today, but for a lifetime. And then, because
S1: of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, we've got
S1: the quickening and the direction of the person of the
S1: Holy Spirit who helps us to know what to do,
S1: why we should do it, and to press on to
S1: being conformed and transformed to the image of Christ. And then,
S1: as if that weren't enough, he gives us the illumination
S1: of his word so we don't have to stumble in
S1: the dark. Wow, what a great and glorious God we have.
S1: But while we're in the marketplace, I'd love to introduce
S1: you to various people along the way. People that you
S1: might not know, people who are there in the marketplace
S1: already influencing and occupying. And one of the people you're
S1: going to hear from this hour is a gentleman just
S1: like that. I love this man. I have worshipped him
S1: from afar. And I don't mean that in a non-biblical sense.
S1: What I mean is there's nothing like someone who is
S1: like Jeremiah, who does have fire in his bones, who
S1: with absolute clarity can teach line upon line, precept upon precept,
S1: what the word has to say. And that is exactly
S1: who Doctor Lon Solomon is. Now, this is a man who,
S1: in 1980 became the senior pastor at McLean Bible Church
S1: in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.. And I have to
S1: tell you, just so that you understand, there are all
S1: kinds of churches in our neck of the woods here
S1: in Washington, D.C. but this is one of those churches
S1: that draws all kinds of people. I mean, this is
S1: a man who's talked to presidents as members of Congress
S1: who were sitting in his congregation, talks to judges, gets
S1: appointed to a council by a past president. We'll talk
S1: about that in a moment, but also is so good
S1: at what he does that he's captured the attention of
S1: the culture. So there are multiple news outlets that would
S1: do stories online about McLean Bible Church and the impact
S1: it was having on the world in Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C.,
S1: and the globe at large. And I can't wait for
S1: you to understand who this man is and to follow
S1: him now at Lon Solomon Ministries, because there's so much
S1: going on there. So let me just tell you quickly,
S1: he has served in that capacity. He's had that job
S1: until 2017, and it was the birth of his disabled daughter, Jill.
S1: We're going to talk more about this. That led to
S1: his initiating and organizing Jill's House, a ministry to serve
S1: the needs of disabled children and their families. He is
S1: on the board of one of my most favorite ministries, Industries.
S1: Jews for Jesus. He's been there since 1987. He now
S1: serves as chairman of the board's executive committee. In September
S1: of 2002, he was appointed by President George W Bush
S1: to serve in his administration as a member of the
S1: President's Committee on Intellectual Disabilities. That was a position he
S1: held until 26, 2006. We get the whole hour with Lon,
S1: and that's a treat, Lon. The warmest of welcomes. I
S1: am thrilled you have so many things you could be
S1: doing with your time. And you're giving me the gift
S1: of time. I can't possibly return it. So let me
S1: just say thank you. And on behalf of people listening
S1: all across the country, we're thrilled to spend this hour
S1: with you.
S7: Thank you. John, it's it's my pleasure, honestly.
S1: Oh, thank you so much. Well, let me start in
S1: the present first, and let me ask you about Lon
S1: Solomon Ministries. And I want to tell my friends I've
S1: got a link on our information page, Lon Solomon ministries.com.
S1: Easy to remember if you're driving. Don't worry about it.
S1: It's right there for you to do it. And it
S1: is chock full of information, including but not limited to.
S1: You were at McLean for over 37 years. There's a
S1: boatload of sermons there. But tell me about Lon Solomon
S1: Ministries today. What is it doing and what's it all about?
S7: Well, thanks for asking. Um, hello, everyone out there. Um, and, uh, well,
S7: when I left McLean in 19, in 2017, I really
S7: wasn't sure what the Lord wanted me to do next.
S7: And so I just kind of said, I just need to.
S7: I was tired, and I just said, you know, I
S7: just need some time to rest. And then it became
S7: clear that the Lord was leading us to begin Lon
S7: Solomon Ministries. So we do a number of things. We
S7: are on about 2000 radio stations across America, uh, with
S7: using sermons that I did when I was at McLean,
S7: which were already prepared for the radio, because we were
S7: on Wava here at Salem station, here in D.C., uh,
S7: and then, uh, we started uh, after that and of course,
S7: social media platforms as well. And then we started using
S7: something that we did in DC that I know, you
S7: know about called not a sermon, just a thought. Uh,
S7: it's a little one minute. Um, it's a little it's
S7: like an ad that we would buy on secular stations
S7: here in DC, and we would run them just like
S7: an ad on the rock station, the country station, the
S7: talk station, whatever. Uh, and the whole idea of not
S7: a sermon, just a thought was to give people a
S7: thought about the Lord. We didn't use it for church growth.
S7: We didn't even talk about the church, ever. We used
S7: it to talk about the Lord Jesus. And just to
S7: give people a little ding in the paint, uh, to
S7: get them thinking and then to end it always with
S7: not a sermon, just a thought. I'll give you an example.
S7: I mean, these were only 46 seconds long, but one
S7: of them that we did was went something like this.
S7: It's opened by my quoting a line from Hotel California.
S7: You can check out any time you want, but you
S7: can never leave. Hi there. This is Lon Solomon, pastor
S7: McLean Bible Church. And, you know, hell is a lot
S7: like the Hotel California. Uh, you may want to check out,
S7: but you can't leave. Which means that the best solution
S7: for this is never to go to hell in the
S7: first place. And that is done by trusting Jesus Christ
S7: in what he did on the cross for you to
S7: pay for your sin. Not a sermon, just a thought.
S7: And we.
S1: And I have.
S7: To.
S8: Believe that.
S1: So many in our culture today are spiritually curious but
S1: hesitant about religion. That's why I've chosen. Have you ever wondered,
S1: is this month's truth to explore how everyday experiences might
S1: be the signposts pointing to deeper biblical truths? As for
S1: your copy of have you ever wondered when you give
S1: a gift of any amount to in the market, call
S1: 877 Janet 58. That's 877 Janet 58 or go to
S1: in the market with Janet Parshall. We have the privilege
S1: of spending the hour with Doctor Lon Solomon, who is
S1: with Lon Solomon Ministries, and we're talking about his ministry
S1: right now, for years, led one of the most important
S1: churches in the Washington, DC area. And God has said, oh,
S1: you're not retiring, Lon. We've still got a lot of
S1: work to do. So I want to go back to
S1: this brilliant idea that you had, because I, like millions
S1: of people in the DC D.C. area would be driving along,
S1: and whether it was a Christian station or a secular station,
S1: I would hear your voice doing one of those 46
S1: second long pieces saying, not a sermon, just a thought.
S1: And every time I thought, Lord, plant those seeds and
S1: reap a harvest out of what Lonnie has just shared,
S1: and it was just enough to get busy Washingtonians to
S1: start thinking about things eternal, to start thinking about their
S1: relationship with the Lord. And it was an absolutely brilliant idea. Now,
S1: if I've done my homework right as part of Lon
S1: Solomon Ministries, now this is going all over the country,
S1: is it not?
S7: Yes it is. We call it not a sermon. America
S7: is the name of the initiative. And, you know, we
S7: realized a few several years ago that people in Washington
S7: were very used to this. People would come up to
S7: me and say, you know, my boss ended our business
S7: meeting the other day by going, not a sermon, just
S7: a thought. So it kind of became a byword around
S7: the city. But people around America had never heard these,
S7: of which we have several hundred. So we said, hey,
S7: why don't we take this on the road? And so
S7: we picked two, two cities every quarter. This quarter we're
S7: in Minneapolis and Las Vegas, and we buy thousands of
S7: dollars of radio time on secular stations. And then we
S7: we run not a sermon in direct people to the
S7: website where they get the full gospel. So in 2024, Janet,
S7: you're not going to believe this because I didn't believe
S7: it in 2024. This is according to the radio stations,
S7: not us. Over 25 million radios were tuned when not
S7: a sermon played in the four quarters. That's amazing. I
S7: had trouble believing that.
S1: But.
S7: But hey, you know what? I'm not a sermon. Just
S7: a thought.
S1: Yeah, exactly right. But what a great God we serve.
S1: And how marvelous that he is. So enlarging your territory.
S1: But there's just something attractive about that. Don't lecture me.
S1: Let me just think about it. I want to discover
S1: truth on my own. And what you're doing is you're
S1: planting these so important seeds, uh, all through the radio.
S1: And I think it's just a brilliant idea and so
S1: excited that this is continuing to grow, which is fabulous. Now,
S1: talk to me about the sermons themselves, because I'm telling
S1: you the reason why so many people went to McLean
S1: when you were senior pastor is because of who you
S1: are and how you preached. I am so thankful that
S1: those sermons have been preserved because if we go to
S1: Lon Solomon ministries.com, we can download a lot of these sermons.
S1: Talk to me about that.
S7: Yeah, you can download them all. Well, when I was
S7: in seminary I had a wonderful professor, doctor Tom Edgar
S7: from Dallas Seminary, who, uh, taught us preaching, um, homiletics.
S7: And he, he had two things he used to always
S7: say to us, number one, uh, 1.1 sermon. Don't give
S7: us six points in one sermon because people can't remember
S7: it all. If you want to make three points, preach
S7: three different sermons. And that was brilliant. And then number two,
S7: he used to always say, uh, that, uh, preach to
S7: junior high schoolers, because if you make it understandable to
S7: junior high schoolers, the adults will think you're wonderful. And
S7: so I always follow that advice. I didn't try to
S7: make it simplistic, but simple enough. You know that a
S7: 12 year old could understand exactly what I was saying.
S7: And so it's not rocket science. And it, you know,
S7: it just it worked. And the basic thing that I
S7: used to tell people when they asked was, if a
S7: preacher doesn't tell you so what and how? What good
S7: is he? And so after teaching the word, you know,
S7: people want to know. All right. So what what difference
S7: does this make to me tomorrow morning and how do
S7: I do it. And if you give them that so
S7: they can put handles on what you're teaching, uh, then
S7: they can apply to their life. And so that that's
S7: what we did.
S1: You know, I have to tell you exactly the way
S1: you just described that, I think, is why you are
S1: so unbelievably effective as a pastor teacher is because it's
S1: applied Christianity. I always say on this broadcast that we
S1: underline on Sunday, we've got all our magic markers in
S1: our notes in the margins of our Bible. Monday rolls
S1: around and we're like deer in the headlights. We don't
S1: have a clue how to take and apply what we
S1: just heard on Sunday to the world around us. Your
S1: approach toward your preaching was always now. You've been. You've
S1: gotten the hermeneutics. You broke this all down. Now what
S1: difference does it make and how do you apply it
S1: to your life personally without doing that? Is it not
S1: an open door for us to compartmentalize our Christianity, rather
S1: than to have it weave into every bit of who
S1: we are?
S7: Well, I certainly think so. I you know, I think
S7: the God gave us the Bible for two reasons. Number one,
S7: to tell us how to get eternal life and get
S7: to heaven. Number two, to tell us how to live
S7: until we get there. And the Bible is meant to
S7: be life changing. It's meant to change the way we think,
S7: the way we live, our value system. So if we're
S7: not helping people make that connection, I mean, a few
S7: people sitting out there will make that jump to lightspeed
S7: all by themselves. But most of us, including me, um,
S7: we we need help. And so when the pastor helps
S7: you make that jump to light speed and like, oh, okay,
S7: I see, I see what I need to do. That
S7: is invaluable.
S1: Yeah. Amen to that. I mean, again, I made that
S1: comment when I was starting our conversation together about the
S1: power of the word. Let me just pause for a
S1: moment and ask you, and I'm going to tap into
S1: your pastor's heart here. You know, I follow George Barna's
S1: research at, uh, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian
S1: University very closely. And it's a wake up call for
S1: anybody who's in ministry, because we're not moving in the
S1: right direction. We're moving in exactly the opposite direction. We're
S1: practicing a kind of synchronicity where we're like a buffet restaurant.
S1: We'll take a little bit of this worldview and a
S1: little bit of that and put it all together and
S1: amalgamate it. And as a result of that, we've got
S1: this shattered Christianity where now, if you look at Barna,
S1: his research says that far too many people who profess
S1: to have a faith in Jesus Christ believe that Jesus
S1: committed sin. There is no actual devil. They're not even
S1: sure who the person of the Holy Spirit is. And
S1: if that is not a wake up call for churches,
S1: I don't know what is but the question, Lon, and
S1: let me see if I can get you to answer
S1: this when we get back is the antidote to that.
S1: Seems to me to be in the word. How do
S1: pastors make it more attractive for people to get into
S1: the word? Because you are such a superb teacher of
S1: the word. Lon Solomon is with us, head of Lon
S1: Solomon Ministries. He's got a powerful testimony we're going to
S1: get in to later. And I've got a link to
S1: his website so you can download his fabulous sermons. You
S1: can learn more about. Not a sermon, just a thought.
S1: And he also takes a lot of tours to Israel
S1: back after this. We're spending the hour with Doctor John Solomon,
S1: who is the head of Lon Solomon Ministries. He also
S1: has been on the board of Jews for Jesus since 1987.
S1: He now serves as chairman of the board's executive committee
S1: there as well. So, Lon, I have so many questions
S1: to ask. I want to talk about your testimony because
S1: if you're on the board of Jews for Jesus thinking
S1: people are going to figure out you are a messianic believer.
S1: So tell me about how you came to know Yeshua
S1: as your Savior.
S7: I would love to do that, but can I answer
S7: the question you asked me first? Yes, please to break.
S1: Yes and forgive me for not going back to that.
S1: Please do.
S7: Oh no. That's okay. That's okay. No, I think you're
S7: absolutely right. I think that it's very disturbing to me.
S7: The leaders of our of the evangelical church today who
S7: don't believe that the Scripture is 100% true. Uh, whether
S7: it's from the Garden of Eden to the flood to
S7: Abraham being real, to, uh, David being real, all of this. Uh,
S7: it's very disturbing because of the power of the Bible
S7: has to be applied to people's lives by a teacher
S7: who believes the Bible is true. God's not going to anoint.
S7: Somebody's trying to teach the Bible who doesn't believe it.
S7: And it's very disturbing that we've got so much leakage
S7: on that issue. And I you know, I've done 63
S7: tours to Israel. You mentioned that. And one of the
S7: mantras we we use when with my group, when we
S7: go through Israel is as I show them things, I
S7: say to them, now say it with me. The more
S7: they dig out of the ground, the more the Bible
S7: proves to be right. Because that's indeed true. Um, and
S7: so I'm not going to bore everybody, but but except
S7: to say that there's never been an archaeological discovery that
S7: has ever definitively proved the Bible was wrong. I mean,
S7: there are people who've interpreted them that way, but they
S7: can be interpreted to prove the Bible is right as well.
S7: So you gotta believe the Bible. Uh, yeah. And you
S7: got to believe all of it. If you don't believe
S7: all of it, then you don't believe none of it.
S7: You know? So, uh, anyway, uh, that would be my
S7: answer to that. And you got to. You got to
S7: teach it with excitement. I mean, my gosh, if the
S7: person preaching it is not excited about it, well, then
S7: why in the world should I sitting in the audience,
S7: get excited about it? So those would be my thoughts
S7: on that now.
S1: My testimony before you go to the testimony line, because
S1: what you said is so rich and so important and
S1: needs to be shouted from the rooftops. Because I loved
S1: your word. There's a leakage going on here. And I
S1: guess we shouldn't be surprised, because if you're reading the word,
S1: you understand that as we move forward in these latter days,
S1: we're not listening to sound doctrine. We want stuff that
S1: tickles our ears. We want it to be, um, culturally
S1: relevant as long as it doesn't offend. It's diverse, it's inclusive,
S1: and all of the other whatever. Words are trendy in
S1: the marketplace right now. But the bottom line is, is
S1: that the word doesn't change, just like the author. The
S1: same yesterday, today, and forever. So what happens when you're
S1: in a church and the pastor goes, well, that was then,
S1: this is now. So let me just pick a topic out. So, uh,
S1: when we when Paul was talking about homosexuality, he was
S1: referring to people who were licentious. These were not people
S1: who were living in monogamous same sex relationships. And you're
S1: a sheep, not a shepherd. You hear a shepherd say that.
S1: You start with the presupposition that the shepherd knows the word,
S1: and he starts doing what's right in his own eyes.
S1: How does a person sitting in the pew know better?
S1: I mean, if they're not being a Berean, if they
S1: don't check this, they're going to be taken captive again.
S1: And this is a hallmark of these latter days. So
S1: what's the antidote for that?
S7: Well, the simple answer is get out of that church
S7: and go find one that believes the Bible.
S8: Um, yes.
S7: You're not going to change a church from the bottom up.
S7: It doesn't happen that way. So if you're in a
S7: church where the preaching is not honoring the the, the,
S7: the veracity of the scripture, go find a church that does. Um,
S7: or a Bible teacher or a Bible study that does. Um,
S7: but it is sad that many people do not understand
S7: the truth of the Bible enough to even recognize when
S7: the when the Bible teachers going off, you know, on
S7: a tangent and that's that's tragic. And they sit there
S7: and they don't even recognize that he's going off or
S7: she's going off. That's tragic. And that happens.
S8: Um, yeah.
S7: So that would be that's my quick answer. Get out
S7: of the church.
S1: I couldn't agree more. And not only that, but stay grounded.
S1: You know, I've often shared with my friends on radio
S1: that when the Bereans said to test all things for years,
S1: I thought they were testing the Greeks. And they were
S1: checking what the Epicureans and the Stoics might be saying.
S1: But in reality, they were fact checking. Paul. They were
S1: the original fact checkers. So if the Bereans are fact
S1: checking Paul, just because someone standing in a pulpit. You
S1: stay grounded in the word and you do the fact check. No,
S1: that's not what the word says. And test all things.
S1: It seems to me in these latter days, it's more
S1: important than ever to do a fact check on what
S1: you hear from the pulpit. Not in a condescending way,
S1: but to make sure that that word of life that's
S1: being held out is being handled carefully.
S7: Yes, absolutely. The Bereans were more noble than the Jews
S7: in Thessalonica, in that they checked the scripture every day
S7: to see what Paul was saying, whether it was true.
S7: So you're right. And and if anybody ever called, as
S7: you know, anybody ever calls you a Berean Christian, that's
S7: a compliment.
S1: I couldn't agree more. That's. And more than ever we
S1: need that. But again, if we want instant popcorn, if
S1: we want instant money out of a machine. Boy, the
S1: idea of studying to show ourselves approved unto God is
S1: so passé. We want quick stuff. We don't want time
S1: spent in the word. So I'm coming up to a
S1: break and afterwards I want to get your testimony. But,
S1: and I promise I will remember my question on the
S1: other side of this break. How does one get into
S1: the routine of being in the word on a regular basis?
S1: For a lot of people, they'll grab their iPhone before
S1: the word, they'll check their email before they check what
S1: God has to say. So what's a good place to
S1: start for someone to say, okay, that's it. I realize
S1: I can't move forward and grow up in him unless
S1: I'm immersed in his word. How do you do that?
S1: Doctor Lon Solomon is with us of Lon Solomon Ministries.
S1: We're going to hear his wonderful testimony. And he's got
S1: a thing or two to say about what's going on
S1: in the Middle East as well. As you can imagine,
S1: a man who's taken tours to Israel 67 times pretty
S1: good back after this with Lon Solomon. Tired of the endless,
S1: biased spin you hear on mainstream media and in the market,
S1: we're using God's Word as our guide as we examine
S1: today's events, and we want you to be informed and
S1: bold about his truth. This is a listener supported program,
S1: so if you value what you hear and you want
S1: us to continue on your station, become a partial partner
S1: with your monthly support, call eight 7758. That's eight Than Janet, 58,
S1: or go online to in the market with Janet Parshall.
S1: We are spending the hour with Doctor Lon Solomon, who
S1: became the senior pastor at McLean Bible Church in 1980,
S1: was there 37 plus years, by the way, and then
S1: he founded Lon Solomon Ministries. And his influence just continues
S1: to grow. And we're so pleased to know that, by
S1: the way, fact checking, I said 67 tours to Israel.
S1: He led 63. Lord willing, it'll be 67 in no
S1: time at all. But the question I left hanging before
S1: the break, Lon, was this idea of how do we encourage?
S1: First of all, I love what you said before if
S1: you're not sensing an enthusiasm. And I referenced Jeremiah before
S1: this fire in your bones coming from the pulpit, it
S1: sure isn't going to be fire that gets caught by
S1: the people sitting in the pews. But for people who
S1: are listening to you now saying, okay, uncle, I can't
S1: put this off anymore, I will confess, I'm one of
S1: those people that grabs my iPhone before the Word of God.
S1: I really want to start spending time in that book
S1: that doesn't contain but is the Word of God. Where
S1: do you tell people to start?
S7: Well, I was very fortunate to have a man who
S7: led me to Christ in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1971.
S7: Excuse me, who drilled that into me? That if you
S7: will never amount to anything for the Lord, if you're
S7: not in the word. And so I had a great beginning,
S7: and he modeled it for me. And then, uh, so
S7: you need you you know, I think we need people
S7: around us who are doing it and people around us
S7: who are telling us to do it. And, uh, it's
S7: just a matter of of two things. One, understanding. For
S7: without me you can do nothing. Jesus said. And number two,
S7: that the Word of God is living and alive and
S7: like a two edged sword. And it it it changes
S7: your life supernaturally. I don't know how. I don't need
S7: to know how, but I know it does. And it's
S7: like rebooting your computer when you're reading the word. And so, uh,
S7: you know, we need to have that sense of need
S7: for the word. And then we just need, frankly, to
S7: to just do it. Uh, you know, I think we're
S7: all tempted to get up and read the paper and
S7: check our email and, you know, whatever, whatever. And, uh,
S7: but we just need the discipline to do it.
S1: Yeah. Amen. Such wise counsel. Okay. Gave us a little
S1: sneak peek when you talked about Chapel Hill. We're going
S1: to talk more about that in a moment. But you
S1: came from Portsmouth, Virginia, raised in a Jewish home. Tell
S1: me what that was like.
S7: Yes, that's exactly right. And can I say one quick
S7: thing that I forgot? Neither I nor any member of
S7: my family takes a dime from Lon Solomon Ministries. 92%
S7: of the money that comes in goes to radio time
S7: and not a sermon time. And I'm very happy that
S7: the Lord's Enabled me to to do that. So back to.
S8: Wonderful.
S7: Portsmouth. Yeah, I had Jewish parents, Jewish grandparents. I mean,
S7: you know, I'm as Jewish as lox and bagel.
S8: I mean, uh, yeah.
S7: And so I was bar mitzvahed the whole nine yards. And, uh,
S7: then I had a girl. I was in acting. I
S7: did Thespian troupe in high school, and she began witnessing
S7: to me and telling me I needed Christ. So I
S7: asked my rabbi at the time, I said, hey, do
S7: Jews go to heaven or to hell? And he said
S7: he was a little taken aback. And he he told me,
S7: you know, no, hell is a Gentile problem. So I
S7: was like, wow, that's great. Uh. That's awesome. So that
S7: pretty well ended my my, um, uh, connection with the synagogue.
S7: I figured if I was.
S8: Going to heaven, then.
S7: Then why go do this boring thing?
S1: Exactly, exactly.
S8: Yeah.
S7: So, uh, but then I got to college and, um,
S7: got into a social fraternity, uh, partied hard, drank hard,
S7: womanized hard, did dope hard, sold dope hard. Uh, and
S7: my life was just. It was just emptier and emptier.
S7: And finally I just got to the point where I said,
S7: all right, something's not right here. I'm missing something somewhere.
S7: So I started trying to find, you know, trying to
S7: find whatever it was that would fix this, uh, emptiness
S7: inside of me. And I ran into this guy, Bob Eckhardt,
S7: who would come to town every Saturday. He worked in Durham.
S7: He was in his 40s. And he would stand on
S7: Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, and he would hand out tracts.
S7: And I thought he was the weirdest man in the world.
S7: I'd never seen anything like this. It looked like it
S7: was right out of a circus. Yes and.
S8: No. But, but, but but.
S7: I felt bad for the poor guy. People would curse
S7: at him and throw his tracks at him and spit
S7: at him. I felt bad for the poor guy. So
S7: we struck up a friendship and little by little he
S7: began to share the Lord with me. And I'll tell
S7: you what it was Janet. The first time I met him,
S7: I looked directly into his eyes. Our meeting wasn't 20s,
S7: but a minute. I looked in his eyes. I knew
S7: he had exactly what I was looking for.
S8: I can't put it.
S7: In words, but the Holy Spirit was shining through him,
S7: and I. My spirit leaped and I knew. I said
S7: to myself when I walked away, now that guy's got
S7: what I'm looking for. I didn't know it was Christ,
S7: but I knew it was something. So, you know, so
S7: often when we're out and about, I don't think we
S7: realize how often, if we're full of the spirit that
S7: day or that moment, I don't think how often we
S7: realize the impact that the Holy Spirit shining through our
S7: life can have, even on a non-verbal level. But man,
S7: I knew and I knew he had it. And so
S7: that's why when he started talking to me about Jesus,
S7: I was willing to listen.
S1: Wow. So how long from the you're willing to listen to?
S1: You decided to make the decision that Yeshua is exactly
S1: who he said he was.
S7: I wasn't long, he gave me a Bible, which I
S7: still have to this day, 54 years later. And he
S7: encouraged me to read it. So I started reading it.
S7: I didn't know where. I didn't know what it was. Well,
S7: we never had I never had a Bible. I didn't
S7: know if this thing went. Introduction, main body, conclusion, anti-climax,
S7: and anthology of poems. I didn't know what this thing was.
S7: So I started at the beginning. In the beginning, God
S7: created the heavens and the earth. And I thought, okay,
S7: I can deal with that. And then I read about
S7: this Adam guy, and I thought he, without a doubt,
S7: is the stupidest person I've ever heard of in the
S7: whole world. Only one thing he couldn't do, and he
S7: did it. What's wrong with this guy? And then I
S7: got to so and so begat so and so. And
S7: I thought, oh my gosh, how long does this go on?
S7: And so finally I said, all right, forget it, I'm
S7: going into the New Testament. Uh, because I knew that's
S7: where Jesus was. And I started reading Matthew's gospel, which
S7: was very appropriate. And I got to Matthew 11, come
S7: to me, all ye that are heavy laden and burdened down,
S7: and I'll give you rest. You'll find peace for your soul.
S7: And I remember saying, bingo! That is exactly what I'm
S7: looking for. I couldn't have put it into words as
S7: well as Jesus did, but that's what I'm looking for.
S7: So that was maybe a month after I met this
S7: guy and I put the Bible down. I got on
S7: my knees in my bedroom and I said, okay, God,
S7: I don't even know for sure if you exist in
S7: this Jesus character I'm really confused about. But my life isn't.
S7: I don't even know why I get up in the morning.
S7: So here's the deal. I'm going to give you my
S7: life for a month, and if you can give me
S7: this rest in this peace that you're promising here in
S7: Matthew 11, you can have my life for good. And
S7: if you can't, then I reserve the right to take
S7: my life back at the end of the month. Amen.
S7: Now that's the worst salvation prayer ever prayed. The worst.
S7: And I'm sure God punched Gabriel in the ribs and said, oh,
S7: that poor boy, we need to go down and help
S7: this man. Uh, but you know, God looks on the outward.
S7: I mean, man looks on the outward appearance, but the
S7: Lord looks on the heart. First Samuel 16 seven and
S7: I think the Lord said, lon horrible prayer. But your
S7: heart is sincere, and I'm going to honor that. And, Janet,
S7: you know, all I can tell you is within a
S7: week I knew something had happened on the inside of
S7: me that it never happened before. I can't, you know.
S7: You know, if you've come to Christ, you know what
S7: I'm talking about. And, uh. And I just came back
S7: a week later and I said, okay, God, I don't
S7: know what you're going to do with a hippie with
S7: hair out to his shoulders and love beads and bell
S7: bottoms and motorcycle boots and a goatee who stinks and smells. But, Lord,
S7: you got me, uh, for whatever you want to do
S7: with me. A deal was the deal. And, uh. And,
S7: you know, God healed my dog. That was the other
S7: part that was so important. I had a dog named Noah.
S7: Big German shepherd. And he had mange. And the medicine
S7: wasn't working. I'd been using it for weeks. It was
S7: getting worse. So after I prayed that horrible salvation prayer,
S7: I got back on my knees and said, okay, God,
S7: one more thing. I need a God who's powerful enough
S7: to heal my dog. So I want you to heal
S7: my dog. And then I got up and I thought, wow,
S7: you know, Lorne, you're kind of putting your dog's life,
S7: you know, on the line. I'm going to stop using
S7: the medicine. So I thought maybe I should have asked
S7: God to levitate the bed or something, you know? But
S7: but I said, no, no deals. Deal. And I'm telling you,
S7: three days later, you can believe it if you want to.
S7: But I'm telling you, that dog's hair had come back,
S7: and I knew it was not the medicine because I'd
S7: been using the medicine for weeks and I knew God
S7: had healed my dog. I ran into one guy at
S7: Liberty University who tried to convince me theologically, God doesn't
S7: heal dogs. And I said to him, sir, I said,
S7: you know what? I'm not really interested in your theology.
S7: God doesn't live in those little cubbyholes you put him in.
S7: I'm telling you, God healed my dog. Now you can
S7: believe it if you want or not. But God healed
S7: my dog, and and that was important because I figure
S7: if I don't have a God at least powerful enough
S7: to heal my dog, then what good is he going
S7: to be to me? Uh.
S1: Exactly.
S9: And so? So he showed himself strong in Christ.
S1: Wow. Wow. Amazing. All right, so question I have to
S1: ask you, and then I do want you to give
S1: me some of your impressions of what's been going on
S1: in the Middle East. But you're a good Jewish boy
S1: from Portsmouth, Virginia, raised in a Jewish home. Now, you've
S1: said Yeshua is the much anticipated, much longer Messiah. How
S1: does that play when you tell your folks back home,
S1: I want to know about that, because this is something
S1: that particularly Jews for Jesus has to deal with on
S1: a regular basis as well. So we'll get an answer
S1: when we return. All of the information you need to
S1: know more about Doctor Solomon is on our information page.
S1: Lon Solomon Ministries comm sermons. Great references. Check it out.
S1: Back after this. We're visiting with Doctor Lon Solomon of
S1: Lon Solomon Ministries. He's heard on radio all across the country.
S1: Just an absolutely fabulous teacher of the Word of God.
S1: So you just gave us part of your testimony. And
S1: I just love the way you shared that and how
S1: you saw something. And that street evangelist in Chapel Hill
S1: that you said, boy, that's what I want. But now
S1: you've got to go home, and you've got to tell
S1: the people closest to you that Jesus is exactly who
S1: he said he was, the way, the truth, and the life,
S1: and that nobody comes to the father but through him.
S1: How does that play at home?
S7: Oh, well, it didn't play well.
S9: Um.
S7: And, you know, I think when I told my parents
S7: I had come to believe in Jesus, I think they
S7: honestly would have preferred that I had told them that
S7: I was still on drugs. Well, because they weren't real
S7: fond of that. But, you know, Bob Eckhardt, the man
S7: who led me to Christ, told me, Lon. God saved you,
S7: at least in part, to be a missionary to your family,
S7: and nobody else is going to do it. And so
S7: I took him seriously. My mom came to Christ before
S7: she died. My dad came to Christ before he died.
S7: My brother, my only sibling, is an active believer in
S7: Jesus and my whole nuclear family. Praise the Lord.
S9: Came to Christ.
S7: And and we had a maid. If you ever saw
S7: the movie The Help You, that's how it was with
S7: my family and so many Jewish families in Portsmouth that
S7: we knew. And her name was Callie Goodman, and she
S7: prayed for me for 22 years. I found this out
S7: after I came to Christ, I didn't know.
S9: Oh, wow.
S7: And she prayed for my whole nuclear family, uh, and
S7: prayed my whole nuclear family, uh, into the kingdom of God.
S1: Praise God, what a story. Oh, what a reminder of
S1: the power of prayer. A very effectual right availeth much.
S1: So you graduate from Chapel Hill with a degree in chemistry.
S1: But then God is obviously changing your heart because you
S1: go on and you get a degree from Capitol Hill Seminary,
S1: but you focus on Hebrew and Old Testament. Then you
S1: go on and you get another master's degree, and this
S1: one is Near Eastern Studies. I find this fascinating. So
S1: what is drawing you a to Hebrew. And the Old
S1: Testament might be a self-evident truth there, but I want
S1: to hear your answer. And also, why were you interested
S1: in Near Eastern studies?
S7: Well, I mean, I happen to be fairly good at
S7: Hebrew because I'd taken it, you know, in Hebrew school as,
S7: as a kid. So it was easy for me where
S7: so many of the Gentile students, I mean, Hebrew is tough, uh,
S7: if you've never done it before. So I was just
S7: good at it. Uh, so, um, uh, but I also
S7: taught some Greek, uh, some homiletics. I mean, I, you know,
S7: I just loved being involved in, in the Bible. And so, yeah,
S7: Hopkins they didn't really have a department called Hebrew. They
S7: had Near Eastern Studies, which included Egyptology and Assyriology, and
S7: Hebrew and Aramaic. So that, you know, that was the
S7: department I had to major in.
S9: Wow.
S1: How absolutely fascinating. And then I should point out, also,
S1: you go on to get a Doctorate of Divinity from
S1: Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. Hence the doctor, Lon Solomon. But
S1: let me in an hour. That's going far too quickly. Lon,
S1: let me take your love of all things Hebrew, your
S1: understanding of Near East studies, and what's going on in
S1: the world today as you're watching what's going on? You know,
S1: it's so fascinating. It's causing a lot of people to say, well,
S1: is this it? Is this the beginning of the end?
S1: I don't know about that, but all I do know
S1: is that people need to understand that Israel is the
S1: only country on planet Earth that was built with a
S1: shovel in one hand and the rifle in the other.
S1: This tiny little piece of land the size of new
S1: Jersey has been fighting for its life since its inception,
S1: and it just continues to this day. Give me your
S1: take on what you're seeing in today's headlines.
S7: Well, sure. I think you said it well. The people
S7: in Jesus's day should have been able to look back
S7: at the Old Testament prophecies and put together what was
S7: going on, but they weren't. I'm sure we're going to
S7: look back one day and say, my gosh, this was
S7: we should have been able to put all this together
S7: for the end of the age. But but I don't
S7: know anybody who can. I mean, you know, we see
S7: through a glass darkly. So I don't know what all
S7: of this has to do with, you know, that. Does
S7: that mean the return of the Lord is more imminent? Less?
S7: I don't know, I'm not that smart. What I do
S7: know is that, uh, God has promised the land that
S7: the that the Jewish people are occupying today to them
S7: started with Abraham. Genesis 15 repeated to Isaac, repeated to Jacob,
S7: and all the way down repeated to David, you know
S7: that they once they were gathered back in 1948, that
S7: they were never leaving that land again. So that I
S7: do know. So if I, if I. If you know,
S7: if I had any money to bet, I'd bet on.
S7: If I were you. I'd bet on Israel staying there.
S1: Me too. Me too. So in parallel to that, and
S1: I couldn't agree with your perspective more. Talk to me
S1: about what is this unbelievable increase in anti-Semitism. You know,
S1: one would have thought that after the Holocaust, when the
S1: clarion cry was never again, we meant never again. But
S1: the voracity with which this has come back, particularly after
S1: October 7th, 2023. For me as a gentile is absolutely stunning.
S1: Why do you think the uptick in anti-Semitism right now?
S7: Well, you know, that is a really good question. It
S7: is so disturbing to see it in our country is
S7: so disturbing among our young people who have been corrupted
S7: by these liberal college professors and whoever, uh, these activists.
S7: I mean, it is. I don't have another word. It's
S7: just disturbing. And but but you know what? Satan hates
S7: the Jewish people. Always has. Always will. And revelation 12,
S7: when he gets thrown out of heaven in revelation 12,
S7: it's there's a warning there to for the earth to
S7: look out because he's coming angry. He has wrath. And
S7: one of the places that wrath is directed is the
S7: Jewish people. He hates.
S9: Them.
S7: And he is out to get them. And I just
S7: think all of this goes back to him. He's behind
S7: all of this.
S1: And exactly what do you think? And I couldn't agree
S1: with your assessment more. At its core, I always say this.
S1: This is a spiritual battle. And if you're not looking
S1: at this through spiritual lenses, you're blind. You don't understand
S1: what's going on. How what should the church do? And
S1: I've got about 30s left. But what does the church
S1: need to do when they hear anti-Semitism.
S7: Well, the first thing we need to do is know
S7: our Bible and understand what the Jewish people represent to
S7: God and the promises he's made to them. And the
S7: second thing we need to do is, is be convinced
S7: that Satan is out there causing all of this. Remember,
S7: the greatest victory Satan ever had is convincing the world
S7: he doesn't exist.
S1: And exactly right.
S9: But he's out there, and he. And we have to,
S9: you know, we need to fight back.
S1: Amen. I want to note to end on. This went
S1: far too quickly. There are a thousand more questions I
S1: want to ask. Let's talk again soon in the future,
S1: because you have such a wonderful perspective. And I do
S1: want to talk about more about the Middle East and
S1: Bible and prophecy. And I just want more and more
S1: people to know about Lon Solomon Ministries. So in the meantime,
S1: let me direct them to my information page in the
S1: market with Janet parshall.org red box. It says program details, audio.
S1: Clicking on takes you to the page where you're going
S1: to get all the information you need on Lon Solomon.
S1: Thank you Lon. Thank you friends. We'll see you next time.