The 700 Club - March 9, 2012 - CBN.com

We’re supposed to stay married and stay together.
The number-one cause of marital stress . . . .
His credit wasn’t good and mine was stellar.
. . . . Was tearing this couple apart.
All of a sudden things would start tumbling down.
How they solved their money woes.
“My record was stained as a result of your irresponsibility.”
. . . . and saved their marriage.
She was really thinking about leaving.
Welcome to The 700 Club. There was an election in Texas a few years ago; and, in one particular
Democrat district, the Republican won going away. When it was asked what was the issue,
the issue was cable TV. The Republican had said I will get you cable TV, and the people
said we’ll vote for you. Well, what are they voting for now is are they going to give
me cheaper gas, or is the price going to go up? And, as Mitt Romney said about our president,
he said, “He’s the man who brought us the audacity of hope. We’re going to have
hope for change,” and he said, “Now he’s gone from that to ‘it’s not my fault.’”
Well, Americans are fired up about soaring gas prices, and they may take their anger
out on politicians especially the president.
Well, the issue is front and center after Senate Democrats, again, put the kibosh on
the Keystone pipeline. Heather sells has the story.
Under pressure from the White House, Senate Democrats voted last night against a Republican
plan to speed approval of an oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. Senate Republicans,
and even Mitt Romney, are already using the issue to their advantage. They’re calling
Democrats out for voting against jobs and blaming the president for high gas prices.
Republicans are targeting Mr. Obama for lobbying Democratic Senators to vote against the Keystone.
It is hard to even comprehend how out of touch, completely out of touch he is on this issue.
I mean, think about it, at a moment when millions are out of work, gas prices are literally
skyrocketing, and the Middle East is in turmoil, we’ve got a president who’s up making
phone calls trying to block the pipeline here at home.
The White House and environmental groups say the proposed pipeline is environmentally risky.
They’re concerned it would use huge amounts of energy to transport so-called, “dirty
oil” from Canada to Texas. “The president believes that it is wrong to play politics
with the pipeline project whose route has yet to be proposed,” says spokesman Jay
Carney. But Republicans say it would create tens of thousands of jobs. It’s an issue
they believe that is perfect for the campaign trail.
The number of licenses provided on federal lands has been cut in half under this president.
The permits granted to drilling operations have been cut to one third of what it used
to be. He even said no to the, I guess I can say no-brainer I can think of for awhile,
which is the Keystone pipeline bringing oil in from Canada.
Romney is also blaming the president in part for rising gas prices. Gas cost $1.84 a gallon
when Barack Obama took office. It now averages $3.79 a gallon.
And he says, “Well, it’s not my fault.” By the way, we’ve gone from, “Yes we can,”
to “It’s not my fault.”
Heather Sells, CBN news.
Thanks Heather. Ladies and gentlemen, I can’t understand what’s happened to the president.
It’s almost like there’s a cloud that’s come over his mind. This pipeline is such
a what you’d call a no-brainer. The TransCanada people who are laying it have agreed to route
around the Ogallala aquifer, so that’s no longer an issue. The question is how fast
can they do it? And it could be done very quickly. It will put a number of steel workers
to work. As many as 20,000 people will be employed. The amount of oil coming into the
country may be in excess of one million barrels a day coming down to the refineries on the
Gulf. It doesn’t cost the taxpayers a dime. Why wouldn’t you do it? Why? What is the
thing that has blocked the president’s vision? I’m sure there are a group of environmentalists
who are his staunch supporters, and he’s going to cater to them. But this is going
to be a wedge issue that is going to cost him the presidency. There is no doubt about
it. He is getting more and more vulnerable, and the fact that the president of the United
States would call Senators and lobby them to vote against a bill that would permit this
pipeline to go forward is incomprehensible! Lee Webb has the rest of our top stories from
the CBN Newsroom. Lee.
Pat, the unemployment rate held steady last month coming in at 8.3 percent in February,
analysts expecting the unemployment rate to drop gradually as the economy continues to
grow slowly, but they do not look for the kind of strong job growth that happened in
the early 80s under Pres. Ronald Reagan.
Israel is asking the US for a bomb capable of attacking Iran’s underground nuclear
sites. Reuters reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested the Bunker Buster
bomb during his visit to Washington this week. Some analysts suggest the US might agree to
give Israel that weapon but only if it promises not to attack Iran this year. The White House
denies that report and says no such agreement was proposed or reached. Pat.
There is no way that Israel can promise not to attack the Arabian facility. They have
a window of opportunity; I think it will close in June, and after that those sites are hardened.
They get behind a mountain range that jet aircraft are prohibited from entering. I mean,
they just tactically can’t get at them. Israel has got to move. They can’t wait.
Why the delay, one cannot understand. But it’s like the president can’t make a decision.
He can’t make a decision. He knows he’s got to do this and yet no. And Leon Panetta
was saying the other day, “The United States has to ask permission from the United Nations
before we can move forward in a military action?” Never in history. We are a sovereign nation.
We can do what we feel like doing, and we should. Okay, let’s switch from that. There’s
a group over in Africa that’s called The Lord’s Resistance Army. It’s led by a
guy named Joseph Kony. He is an absolute homicidal maniac, and they have been rampaging through
the center of Uganda and Africa for decades. Now is the time to get people in there, to
get armed forces in there and kill him. He’s been killing, raping, and pillaging; and he’s
got to be put out of the way. Well, they have a new video that we’re going to tell you
about now that is shocking. Lee Webb.
Pat, a new video campaign aimed at bringing down an African warlord is sweeping across
the Internet. It’s called Kony 2012. Kony, is Joseph Kony. He is the leader of a Ugandan
cult called The Lord’s Resistance Army. But he’s no Christian. He’s wanted for
international war crimes, mostly against children.
For 26 years, Kony has been kidnapping children into his rebel group, the LRA, turning the
girls into sex slaves and the boys into child soldiers.
The video has had more than 50 million hits. The group behind it is called, “Invisible
Children.” Filmmakers say the next step is for Americans to start putting pressure
on Washington and governments around the world. Some critics, though, say the film oversimplifies
the situation and doesn’t tell the entire story. CBN’s Gary Lane has been covering
the LRA for years; and to view his coverage as well as the Kony 2012 video, we invite
you to go to our website at CBNNews.com.
No reports of any serious problems following Thursday’s solar storm. The storm shook
the earth’s magnetic field early today. Experts had warned that it could disrupt power
grids, satellites, and telecommunications systems around the world. But that didn’t
happen. The solar flares did reach what forecasters call a “strong” level, but the worst problem
seems to have been a two-hour blackout of high-frequency radio communications mainly
affecting amateur radio operators from Africa to Australia and the Indian ocean.
Japan still suffers from a devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown that occurred
one year ago. Some 19,000 people died there, and thousands are still missing. But hope
is still alive. George Thomas has this report from one community where Japanese Christians
have been working nonstop to help survivors.
Homda Tadakazu says if it hadn’t been for Christians, he would have abandoned the seaweed
factory that’s been in his family for three generations.
If it has come a month after the tsunami, I wouldn’t have made it. But they came two
weeks later and started helping me clean up.
His company sits less than 500 yards from the ocean. Thirty minutes after the earthquake,
multiple tsunamis swept through his factory, destroying everything. Thanks to the help
from Christians like Kouji Oshima, he’s only months away from reopening his company.
Since the earthquake, the Holy Spirit has been telling me to travel around the affected
areas and help people get back on their feet.
It’s a story that’s been played out across Japan’s tsunami affected areas. Churches
and individual Christians move quickly in those early days and are still working to
help the displaced and hurting. On March 11 last year, moments before the earthquake,
Yokoyama Daisuke and a handful of Christians gathered in Tokyo for a prayer meeting.
A few young people met that afternoon to pray and cry out to God to bring a spirit of repentance
and revival to our nation, and then the earthquake happened.
Within minutes, they started ministering to grief-stricken and frightened people. He watched
the drama unfold on television screens.
We went to the subway and train stations where thousands of people were stranded. We served
coffee and tea and tried to sure hope with the people.
In the 12 months since the disaster, Yokoyama left Tokyo and moved here, some 25 miles from
the Fukushima nuclear plant, where he’s using worship to share the Gospel with nonbelievers.
People are coming to the Lord. They see love and compassion displayed by Christians and
are touched.
Domae Shogo is one of them. A former gang member, he spent 22 years in prison for multiple
infractions. Last November he got an invitation to attend Yokoyama’s church, and he gave
his life to Jesus Christ. Today you’ll find him making friends among the thousands displaced
by the earthquake and tsunami. And while tremendous progress has been made the past 12 months,
the reality is that tens of thousands are still homeless, and so the government has
set up temporary shelters like this one. But so many people are looking for a place to
call “home” again.
I spend my time listening to their stories. These are very lonely people who have lost
everything. So I’m here to show them the love of Christ and to tell them how he changed
my life.
A theme echoed this past weekend . . . .
Franklin Graham: Did you know God has a plan for your life?
. . . . as Japanese church leaders invited American evangelist, Franklin Graham, to hold
a celebration of Hope Festival in Sendai. It featured a number of Christian artists,
like Kirk Franklin, and others.
One year ago we had tragedy in this community, and now we’re having celebration and hope,
because we are reminded that God is sovereign and He’s still on the throne.
He wants to bring fulfillment to your life.
Graham, son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, drew nearly 12,000 people over the three-day
event . . . .
I think for the first time, many Japanese people are open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
. . . . something Pastor Ikarashi Yoshitaka says he can testify has happened in the weeks
and months since the tragedy. He co-leads a congregation not too far from nuclear power
plants.
This is going to be a sad and happy weekend. Sad, because we will remember all those who
died last year. But also happy because we are seeing God move like never before.
George Thomas, CBN news, Iwake, Japan.
So sad to see that devastation, Pat, but so great to see Christians mobilizing there.
Oh, there’s no question about it, and we are grateful for the opportunity. Now, listen.
OB has sent in about 100,000 pounds of supplies into Japan.
We have prepared and delivered 50 fishing vessels so that those people can get back
to work. We have distributed more than—well, there’s so many blankets, and vitamins,
and medicine and all the rest that we’ve been giving them, because they are hurting.
And if you want to help, we’re still there. Disaster Relief Fund for Operation Blessing.
CBN Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 23463. We believe in helping those who have need
and are hurting, and we are grateful for that opportunity. Now this is something we are
not going to do a feature on, because it wasn’t at this point a very big deal, but it was
a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that took place off the island of Vanuatu in the Pacific,
which means that Pacific plate, that Teutonic plate is moving, and it moves in one place.
It may well be moving in others, so you might be expecting some other things to happen.
But these things are devastating to Japan. Manawatu, apparently, it didn’t hurt anybody
too much.
Well, and fortunately, no tsunami from it. But wherever it shows up next could be devastating.
So we need to pray God’s grace and mercy on that.
It’s the ring of fire, and those things are all connected together. Our North American
plate, and the Pacific plate, and all these things join hither and yon, and as they begin
to separate and move, it causes considerable devastation. There is the ring of fire. That’s
what it looks like, and Vanuatu is out there in the middle. So we just pray for that, and
we want to be there to help them when the time comes. SO give generously to Operation
Blessing Disaster Relief Fund.
Well, coming up later, your opportunity to ask Pat. If you’ve got a question for him,
all you have to do is log on to our chat room, that’s CBN.com. But first, hundreds of spoken
languages have never been written down until now. The ABCs of creating alphabet and spreading
the Gospel, that’s up next.
Hi there, neighbor. Pat Boone here for my good friends at Swiss America, the company
that makes retirement dreams come true with gold. A lot of folks are shifting a portion
of their retirement funds into a new precious metals IRA with Swiss America. And since 2004
these IRA’s are up in value over 150 percent. I’ve been a very satisfied client of Swiss
America for many years now, because they believe in honesty, fair prices, and superior service.
It’s time to put your financial future on a gold standard right now. I own gold, because
it’s a hedge of protection for my family. Even my grandkids can see that our paper money
is becoming less valuable every day. So call or visit Swiss America now. Ask for the Pat
Boone free DVD and gold IRA kit. Get the best education you can on gold, the best asset
to own during these uncertain times. Call or visit online now.
Monday . . . .
I was pretty crushed. I was devastated.
Caught in the act . . . .
I just totally lost it.
. . . . a husband gets busted . . . .
She knew something was up.
. . . . for having an online affair.
That kind of conversation should not have taken place between somebody else and my husband.
What fixed his cheating heart?
What do you do at that point? I mean, I just spilled and told Erin. Then she left.
Monday, on The 700 Club.
Well, I’m back. What if the one thing you wanted most in all the world was something
you could never have? And what if that something was to read the Bible in your own language?
That’s the case for more than 300 million people worldwide. But, as Charlene Israel
reports, that’s now changing in countries like Cameroon, where people are reading the
Bible in their own mother tongue for the first time ever.
These are the sights and sounds of Cameroon. Located on Africa’s west coast, it is home
to 19 million people. Most speak the official languages of English or French, but some 280
language groups blanket the country. Forty percent of the people here are Christians,
yet most do not have Bibles in their native tongue. The Bible says in Revelation that
God will gather up people from every nation, every tribe, and every tongue. Well, part
of that is being fulfilled here in this village in Cameroon where the Word of God is being
translated into Yambetta, which is the native language of the people here. Here in the remote
village of Babetta, life is simple, especially when it comes to communicating. The native
language of Yambetta is usually only spoken, but that's about to change. In this tiny room,
translators work from dawn till dusk, translating the Gospel into Yambetta, their mother tongue.
Leonard Bolioki is the project's main translator.
We are very glad when we understand the Word of God in their own language.
This work is close to the heart of Wycliffe USA President Bob Creson. For nearly 10 years,
Bob and his wife, Dallas, served as missionaries in Cameroon. He says the work of Bible translation
has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.
I think the thing that's hit me the hardest, Charlene, is to see the number of Cameroonians
that are taking leadership in the Bible translation process here in Cameroon.
George Shultz helps train Cameroonians in Bible translation.
I think it gives them a great sense of pride and ownership.
Wycliffe teams up with the Cameroonian Association for Bible Translation and Literacy. Efi Tembon
says Bible translation is just part of the story.
Most of the languages we work in are languages that had never been written before, never
had an alphabet, never had even one book in their language. So when we start to work in
a language, we send a linguist in to study the language, come out with an alphabet, with
a writing system, and start to do books in reading and writing book to help the people
learn how to read and write their language.
Here they're translating the Bible into Tunen, and they're working on the book of Revelation
or Apocalypse in Tunen. Technology has been another game changer. Here, translators use
a portable satellite to collaborate with experts in other parts of the world. This helps ensure
biblical accuracy. The translating has helped lead to transmitting. In addition to reading
the scriptures, people are also listening to the Word in their own language through
the program Faith Comes By Hearing. Ambassa Apolinaire is the project’s coordinator.
In Africa people prefer listening to reading and most of the time, we record the whole
New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. After the recording, we go in the field, and
we set up listening groups in churches, in quarters, in houses. And people meet to listen
to the Word and discuss.
Local pastors say having the Word of God in a language they can understand is a great
blessing.
When I went to biblical school, I studied the Word of God in French, and I thought that
I had mastered it. The fact now that I can speak, read, write and even preach in my own
language, that makes me proud.
When I visited this church, they were doing their service in their own language. They
sang in their language and preached the Gospel in their language. I had no understanding
what they were saying; but when I looked at the faces of the people, it was clear to me
that God was in that place, because there was joy on their faces.
Translators say that makes their work worthwhile.
To be a translation consultant is both a distinction, and it's an affliction. And the joy of doing
it and the joy of seeing people read the Word of God and understand helps us to overcome
whatever difficulties we encounter.
And the work leads to more revelation.
When it was in the process of being translated, the person who did the translation listened
to the CD. He said, “It was as if he was hearing the Parable of Jesus for the first
time.
Meanwhile, Leonard and his team have completed about 60 percent of the New Testament translation
into Yambetta. He joyfully awaits the day when he can read the scriptures in his native
tongue and share it with others.
Very happy. Yes, I will be very happy that day, yes.
This Word that became flesh moves into the village. He's no longer a foreign God. He's
no longer someone who doesn't understand my deepest needs.
And now, more than ever, that realization can help lead to a life-changing relationship.
Charlene Israel, CBN News, Cameroon, West Africa.
It’s amazing that over the years, these people had never had a written language, ever.
Yes.
I mean, it’s extraordinary.
No alphabet! I mean, don’t you find that process interesting . . . .
It’s extremely, extremely so.
. . . . to create an alphabet for a language? Wow! Unbelievable.
You can do it. It’s amazing. So what’s next?
Well, up next, a news anchor with holes in his pockets gets left in the lurch.
. . . . Second Street to CitiBank and sat down, and I started to cry; and the manager
said, “What’s wrong?” and I said, “My wife just left me, and I don’t know how
to balance a check book.”
The price he paid to win his wife back, after this.
Believe it or not, this is a catheter. It's the new SpeediCath Compact for women, now
available from Liberator Medical with full medical and private insurance reimbursements.
Stay tuned for an exciting, free offer, but first meet Julie.
You know when you leave the house, and you say, “Okay, I have my phone. I have my keys.
I have my wallet. I'm good to go?” Now I always have to think of a catheter, because
I can't go without it. SpeediCath came into my life, and it is life-changing. They're
tiny and thin, and you can fit them in your back pocket. You can fit them anywhere you
need them. This is a lipstick, or a lip gloss, and this is the size of it. With this you’re
only touching the outer plastic, and you're never actually in contact with the catheter
itself. You just really have to give a sample. That's all it needs is one sample, and everyone's
going to want them.
Now here’s that free offer I promised. Call Liberator Medical. Get your free, SpeediCath
Compact Sample six-pack. Shipping is free: 1-800-595-1446, 1-800-595-1446.
If you’re the mother of child with behavior problems, I’d like to talk to you. My name
is Janet Lehman, and I’m a behavior therapist and a mom. I know what it’s like when the
child that you love becomes a defiant out-of-control child who disrespects you. That’s why my
husband James and I created The Total Transformation, the program that tens of thousands of moms
are now using to turn around their child’s behavior. If you’ve heard about the Total
Transformation and wondered if it will work for you, now you can try it for free. I’m
willing to give away a thousand programs today for free. All you need to do is get the program
and let us know how it works for you. We’ll let you keep it for free. I know the Total
Transformation works, because I used these techniques with my own son and with troubled
kids for over 30 years. Let me prove to you that it works by giving you the program free.
Call the number on your screen now to get the Total Transformation free.
Love and money. What does money do? It’s a tricky mixture, but if you don’t get it
right, it could cost you big time. Julian Phillips knows that. Julian couldn’t balance
a checkbook, ooh, and left his marriage in the red.
She was a jazz singer. He was a TV news anchor who saw her perform at a night club.
She’s just beautiful, and she just had this presence about her.
Julian was this happy go lucky guy. I was a little more grounded, maybe. Our relationship
was good; we had a good time with one another. We just spent a lot of time hanging out and
enjoying life.
Julian and Barbara married three years after they met. That’s when Barbara found out
what they didn’t have in common.
We had very different views on money, and that’s something I guess we didn’t talk
about earlier on. His credit wasn’t good, and mine was stellar; so I put him on my credit
card, and I saw that he wasn’t good at handling that
My passion always was being a reporter, producer, news person, and, you know, the money in that
field followed it. I was reckless with my money. I didn’t save money. I was hoping
at some point in my career after making a lot of money and doing things that I could,
you know, get that big mansion.
Julian maxed out their credit card trying to achieve a lifestyle they couldn’t afford.
In the process, he completely ruined Barbara’s credit.
Then I was angry, okay, I was, and I didn’t feel he took it seriously enough. He was like,
“Okay, you know, don’t worry about it, you know, we’re going to work it out.”
But I’m like, “No, but I am worried about it because now my record is stained as a result
of your irresponsibility.”
Now I’m scared, because I’ve got this woman, I’ve got this prize; I had to be
somebody now that I’ve never been before.
Julian realized there were deeper roots to the problems he had with money.
She’s going to find out the real insecure Julian, and then all of a sudden things start
tumbling down. And so I think that there were seeds of insecurity all along for me.
Barbara chose to suffer in silence, but she’d had enough.
I think that I should have taken more control and said more of what I felt. I held a lot
in. And I think, you know, that’s where the resentment came from.
So I really didn’t know to the extent of how these things were affecting her. She was
really thinking about leaving.
You know, we’ve got to grow up and mature and handle things as a mature adult, and I
didn’t see that in him.
The couple went for counseling, but it didn’t help, and Barbara moved out.
And this wasn’t supposed to happen to me, that we were supposed to get married and stay
together.
I literally didn’t know what to do. I marched myself up 42nd Street to CitiBank and sat
down, and I started to cry. And the manager said, “What’s wrong?” I said, “My
wife has left me, and I don’t know how to balance a checkbook. Could you help me?”
It was a very humbling experience.
Julian slowly learned to manage his finances with help from his banker. He tried to drown
himself in his work but always thought about Barbara.
I didn’t know where to turn, wanting this to work, but couldn’t figure out like what
might be wrong. You know, I started seeking answers.
Julian’s quest led him to church. He grew up going to church and hearing about God,
but he says that God was relegated to second place, as he sought career success and marriage.
Julian was regularly mentored by his pastor and began to pray for his marriage to be saved.
He and Barbara maintained a cordial friendship, and he invited her to his new church.
It touched me in a very personal way, but I knew that it was about giving your life
to Christ, and changing how you live, and developing a personal relationship with him.
From that point on, you know, my life has been different.
I’ve got this Holy Spirit in me, now, to show me that there was something to all of
this being saved, that it was just something more than just a pastor, that it was something
that I had to see, that I had to experience that was becoming very real to me.
The couple began going to church together and eventually renewed their wedding vows.
I knew that none of this was by my own effort. I realize that. I realize this was all God.
Everything seemed perfect until, once again, financial trouble hit. Julian, now a network
news anchor, was suddenly fired. The Phillips were behind on bills, their car repossessed,
and their pending foreclosure on their home; but this time rather than sinking into despair,
the couple turned to God and each other.
I was completely confident that somehow we’re going to make this work.
The fight, though, still becomes a fight of faith, because we’re waiting to see how
God is going to manifest.
A few months later, he got a job offer as a communications director for a congressman.
I have found that when you’re faced with what seems to be the impossible, He can turn
it around. I would say that God has restored my marriage.
He has shown me a side of my husband that has helped us to grow together, has joined
us closer together. I mean, we are best friends, and we support one another. So He has allowed
us to grow together and to learn from each other and use that knowledge to make our marriage
better.
Money, money, the love of money is the route of all evil. The Bible doesn’t day say money’s
the love all evil, the love of money. Jesus talked probably more about money than anything
else. Why? Because you and I living in this world find money as a store of value or a
representation of our labor. We have labored and that money is what we get in exchange
for our labor. We do so much work, and we get paid for it. And then we use that money
to buy the things that we want, or we can save it up. So the love of money, and the
Bible says, “That what is highly prized in the sight of man is an abomination in the
sight of God.” All this splendor and all this glitz and everything, it’s an abomination
in God’s sight. And yet people think they need to take money and buy more. What happens
if you’re a hedge fund manager, and you got a big pay day and suddenly they give you
20, 30, $40 million, and you just get it and here it is, and that’s after taxes, it’s
yours, bing? What do you do with it? Well, you’ve got to show everybody how important
you are. So how do you do that? There’s only so many cars you can drive, so you get
a big mansion, and you tear down some little house and you build this monstrous thing on
the sea coast, and then you get a big mortgage, and then you’re in a rat race, and you’re
trying to show off what you’ve got. Or you go to the auction and you buy a whole bunch
of paintings, and you pay an ungodly price for them, and you’re saying to people, “Look
at me, I am successful, and this is a token of my success.” It’s false God. The Bible
says, “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” Mammon is the God of money. You can’t serve
God and money, but that doesn’t mean God won’t help you get money, God won’t give
you prosperity; if you follow certain principles he’s bless you. There’s no question about
it. But right now, some of you are seeking to serve the God of mammon. And Jesus said,
“What’s highly prized among men is an abomination to the sight of God.” God looks
down upon you, and He says, “What in your heart?” And what He wants you to do is have
your heart open toward Him. He says, “Seek you first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all this other stuff will be given to you.” It’ll be given to you. You can have
things coming; you can’t believe. God doesn’t mind you being wealthy; God doesn’t mind
you being prosperous; God doesn’t mind you having enough to meet your needs. That pleases
the Lord. So what do you want to do right now? And I want to ask you, who or what is
your God? You can’t serve God and money. So why don’t you determine right now that
you’re going to serve God, and you seek Him first, and all these other will be added
to you? Bow your head and pray with me right now. Pray these words. “God almighty, forgive
me for making a God of money. Forgive me for wasting money. Forgive me for the wrong priorities.
And at this moment, Lord, I want you to know I put you first. You are in charge. I want
to do what pleases you. I want to follow your will. And if it’s your plan and pleasure
that you would prosper and bless me financially, I receive that; but I will give you the glory
of whatever happens, and I thank you for the future ahead of me, in Jesus’ name, amen.”
Now if you pray that prayer with me, I want to give you something.
We have a little booklet here that’s called Love and Marriage. It’ll help you with your
marriage, and you get with that money thing. I’ve got a book I wrote, by the way, talking
about money; it’s called Right on the Money. You can probably get that wherever, I guess
through Amazon. If you want to read more detail about how you can have budgets and so forth,
it’ll help you. But right now you’ve made a decision, and I want you to live for that
decision. Call. Tell our counselors that you’ve just decided that. Ask them to pray for you;
they’ll be glad to do it. No problem. Call in right now. Terry, we’ve got more coming.
We sure do. We’re going to take you to a WikiChurch and show you how the concept behind
the explosive growth of Wikipedia can fire up your church. So stay tuned.
I thrive on adrenaline. I drink about a half a pot of coffee every day. In a 24-hour news
cycle, there are hundreds of stories going on around the world. You don’t know if you’re
going to be covering a bombing in Israel, a swine flu pandemic, an inauguration of a
new president. No matter what the story, we tell it with a Christian perspective. It does
get crazy, especially when we have a bureau in Washington, DC. They’re doing their part
to cover the story, and you have a reporter that’s doing their part; and our job is
just to pull it all together for that final product. The news doesn’t stop, and neither
do I. I’m Tyler. I’m a news producer. I work at CBN.
Have you ever had an idea for an invention or new product? Bill Schaefer, one of the
inventors of Wham-o’s new “Splash Wash” did. He came up with the idea while watching
his children play one, hot summer afternoon. Bill invented a car wash for kids: Ride through
it, run through it. InventHelp submitted the “Splash Wash,” to Wham-o, the makers of
childhood favorites like a Frisbee, Hula hoop, and Slip N. Slide. If you have an invention
you would like to try to patent and submit to corporations and want free information
that explains how InventHelp me be able to assist you, call now. InventHelp is America's
largest invention company with sales offices in over 50 cities nationwide. Call InventHelp
today for free information. Bill Schaefer made a financial gain on the “Splash Wash,”
however most inventions are not successful, and Bill’s experience is not typical of
what inventors can expect.
For your free inventors information, call 1-800-260-7793. That's 1-800-260-7793.
Welcome back to The 700 Club.
The Brazilian government now is fighting Iran’s death penalty for Christian Pastor Yusef Nadarkhani.
Brazil still has economic and diplomatic relations with Iran, so its voice could have an impact.
Nadarkhani was in prison for his Christian faith and sentenced to die for leaving Islam,
but he claims he never was a Muslim. He has rejected the Iranian regimes command to recant
his Christian faith before he can be set free.
Operation Blessing is aiding tornado victims in Harrisburg, Illinois. That town was devastated
by one of the deadly tornadoes that tore across the Midwest last week. OB has deployed more
than 2,000 volunteers there. Most recently OB partnered with Future Farmers of America.
More than 375 students from 15 surrounding high schools came out to help local farmers
clear debris from more than 300 acres of farmland. You can find out more about Operation Blessing
by going to its website at OB.org.
Pat and Terry will be back with more of The 700 Club after this.
Are you noticing more wrinkles, frown lines or sagging skin? This is Eloise at age 69.
Eloise didn’t like how she looked in the mirror. Wrinkles on her face and sagging skin
around her neck were making her look old. So she decided to look younger with a Lifestyle
Lift. Here’s Eloise today at age 72, looking younger, refreshed and natural. How did she
do it? Call Lifestyle Lift to find out. It’s that easy. Get your free information kit and
imagine how you can start looking younger today.
Monday . . . .
I was pretty crushed. I was devastated.
Caught in the act . . . .
I just totally lost it.
. . . . a husband gets busted . . . .
She knew something was up.
. . . . for having an online affair.
That kind of conversation should not have taken place between somebody else and my husband.
What fixed his cheating heart?
What do you do at that point? I mean, I just spilled and told Erin, and then she left.
Monday, on The 700 Club.
Wiki, it’s a Hawaiian word meaning fast or quick. So what’s a WikiChurch? Well,
you could look it up on Wikipedia. Instead watch this.
Since 2001, Wikipedia has grown into one of the Internet’s largest reference websites
with almost half a billion visitors monthly. A big part of its success is that people of
all ages, cultures, and backgrounds contribute. Steve Murrell says, “It’s that idea of
everyone contributing, not just trained leaders, that will help churches expand.” He has
applied this WikiChurch concept to his own church in Manila, Philippines called Victory.
Pastor Murrell’s WikiChurch started with 165 members, and now after almost three decades,
the number has grown to 52,000 and over 60 locations.
Well, please welcome to The 700 Club Steve Murrell. Steve, it’s great to have you with
us.
Oh, good to be here.
Great things God is doing in the Philippines, well around the world, but especially in your
neck of the woods. Talk a little bit, if you will, about what a WikiChurch is and what
it does, what it looks like.
Well, a WikiChurch, I think as the intro said, the idea of Wikipedia is anyone can write
anything and post it on Wikipedia. Originally it started with a concept called “NewPedia,”
and NewPedia only allowed trained, credentialed scholars and experts to post anything, but
after one year on NewPedia, there were only 24 articles posted.
Unbelievable!
In the meantime, they started this feeder system called Wikipedia that allowed anyone
to write anything, and within one year there were over 20,000 articles, and in the next
ten years over 20 million.
Explosion.
Yeah. And I think it’s what happens in the church. Unfortunately, the church, the New
Testament Church was more like Wikipedia, where everyone was expected to be involved,
and everyone was expected to contribute, but the modern church somehow has become the NewPedia
model where it’s only the expert, it’s only the credentialed professionals, and so
pretty much everyone sits back and lets the professionals do it. And so I’m hoping the
Wikipedia church idea, the WikiChurch idea where everyone uses their gifts and everyone
uses the gifts God’s given then to be a part of God’s Kingdom.
What have you seen happen, because you’ve applied that perspective to it all?
You know, when we first went to the Philippines, I think we were probably some of the most
untrained and clueless church planners or missionaries who have ever left.
God must have said, “At last.”
Yeah. I don’t know if anybody knew as little as we did when we went to the Philippines,
but we were, I think, examples of people who just said, “Okay, we’re in the game, and
God whatever you want to do.” In the very beginning, we looked at brand new believers,
cause we went to the Philippines just for one month. We thought we were staying one
month; it turned into two months and six months and years, but initially when we were about
to leave the first time, we looked at these brand-new believers, these Filipinos and said,
“This is your church, and you will start doing the ministry when we leave.” And they’d
only been believers for just a matter of weeks.
Wow!
And we said, “But, you know, the people coming this week to church, they’ve only
been saved one day. They come to Christ today, so really compared to them you’re spiritual
giants.” And our mantra was—we looked at these new believers and said, “If you
can just stay one chapter ahead in the Bible, then you can help these other people follow
Christ.”
You really released them to do the ministry.
We really did. We felt like our job was to equip and empower, our job was not to do all
the ministry ourselves, but to equip and empower others to do it. And it was pretty amazing
seeing how God would use people who were the most unlikely and, sometimes, not a whole
lot of training, but God did amazing things through their lives.
You know what really struck me in the book, as I read it, was how we have gotten things
in the traditional church so backwards. You know, here we have the word, we can see what
Jesus tells us is our mandate, but talk a little bit about, He said He would build the
church.
Yeah. And I, as a church planter and as one who most of my life has been working in the
church, it’s important to realize that Jesus did say, “I will build my church.” It’s
not my job, it’s not your pastor’s job, it’s not people in any kind of ministries
job. He’s building the church, he’s building the ministry, but our job is to make disciples.
In Matthew 28, he said, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” And I think when we switch
that, and we think, “Okay, I have to build the ministry, and I have to build the church,
then who’s making disciples?” But that’s what he wants us to do. He died for people,
not for logos and ministries and organizations, but people; and our job is to go and take
the gospel to people, and if we’ll do that, He’ll build a pretty amazing church. He’ll
build an amazing ministry.
And that’s evident by what he’s done in the Philippine’s with the work that you
are doing. One of the other things you say in the book, amongst many things that I was
underlining and highlighting, is that, “If you’re not on the move you can’t go anywhere.”
Yeah.
And, you know, sometimes our programs keep us stagnant, where, when you are empowering
people and everybody’s moving forward, it’s a wow moment.
Yeah.
You see an incredible growth.
Yeah. And I think it’s really a matter of do I trust in the Holy Spirit in people, and
the way He’s been so gracious in my life, in spite of my attitudes, and my lack of faith,
and my whatever issues and lack of training and things like that, can He do that in someone
else’s life? And He can, and I think that’s why we have to take the empowering position
of really believing in the power of the Holy Spirit in people.
You know, Steve, I think a lot of people have felt over the years, and it’s even been
taught sometimes, that evangelism is a gift that some people have.
Yeah.
And then there are a lot of people who are just uncomfortable with, you know, “I don’t
know how to share Jesus with people.” What do you say to them?
You know, if anybody is not an evangelist, it’s me. I’ve never been mistaken for
one at any point, but I think I have to realize for me, and for every one of us, the great
commission applies to us. And we’re supposed to go and make disciples of all nations, and
I think when we think about Jesus standing on that mountain and looking at his disciples
and saying, “Go make disciples,” none of them interpreted that to mean, “We should
go and find people who are already finding Jesus and help them do it better.”
Yeah.
They interpreted that to mean we should find people who don’t yet know Jesus and help
them find him and help them follow, so in the whole mandate to make disciples there’s
an evangelism component. Whether we are evangelists or not, if we’re followers of Christ, we’re
supposed to make disciples at some level.
And it starts with just sharing what he’s done for us.
Yeah. Yeah, it does.
You know, we are so touching the tip of the iceberg. You really need to read this book.
It’s called WikiChurch: Making Discipleship Engaging, Empowering, and Viral. It’s available
wherever books are sold, and it’s really wonderful. Thank you so much. It’s great
to have you with us today.
Yeah. Thank you, Terry. Glad to be here.
Thank you. Well still ahead, from our chat room, Kathryn says, “My sister is gay and
she’s marrying her partner. She’s asked me to be a bridesmaid at her wedding . . . .”
“. . . . I don’t even know if I should attend her wedding, much less be a part of
it. What should I do?” that’s going to Bring It Online with Kathryn’s question
and his Answers. When we come back.
If you have diabetes, and you’re on Medicare, call now for a new pain-free meter. These
new meters are more accurate. They’re easier to use, and the best news is you don’t have
to prick your fingers anymore. Call now and Arriva Medical will send you one of these
new meters for free; and, if you have Medicare, your testing supplies may also be covered.
Arriva makes it simple. They bill Medicare directly. There are no upfront costs, and
they deliver your supplies right to your door for free. With these new meters, there’s
no coding. You don’t have to prick your fingers, and some of these meters even talk.
Your blood glucose reading is 122.
Call 1-800-284-4105. We will send you a free Betty Crocker Diabetes Cookbook filled with
delicious recipes.
Call Arriva today. You’ll be glad you did.
Hey, welcome back to this edition of The 700 Club. Man, it’s nice to have all of you
with us. I want to introduce you to Daniel. Daniel is a toddler who loves to drive his
toy car wherever he goes. But he also is a child whose life hung in the balance when
he was first born. Watch this.
When Daniel was a month old, we noticed his stomach was bloated; so we took him to the
hospital.
There, doctors diagnosed Daniel with Hirschsprung's, a life-threatening disorder where part of
the large intestine fails to work properly. Waste builds up, causing the intestine to
expand. Surgery is the only treatment, and without it, Daniel would die. Worni is Daniel’s
mother, a widow raising her four children alone.
I thought, “How could I get all that money for surgery? My monthly income is less than
a hundred dollars.”
So on a recent visit to the hospital, the doctor told Worni about CBN.
I was not ready to lose my son. I was so thankful!
Very quickly, CBN set up free surgeries for Daniel to repair his intestine. Those operations
had to be done in three stages over a six-month period. After the last surgery, we went back
to see the little boy and found him to be in perfect health.
Thank you to everyone who gave money to help my son. My prayer is that you will keep doing
these good things that help so many people.
Well, you can do that, and you can make a difference in somebody’s life.
And we encourage you to join with us in helping thousands and millions of people, actually.
It’s so easy. It’s 65 cents a day. It’s no big deal. But for you to do it together
with us, and we’ve got something called The Quest For God. And, by the way, if you
do what’s called Pledge Express, we’ll send you Power for Life. Every month you’ll
get this thing, because we will be saving enough money in postage and things to be able
to send this to you. So you can call your bank or financial institution and say, “I
want to sign up for Pledge Express and it’s easy to do.” Okay, questions.
Okay, Pat. This is from Kathryn who says, “I’ve been asked to be a bridesmaid in
my sister’s wedding. There’s only one problem. My sister is gay, and she’s marrying
her partner. I don’t know what to do. If I don’t agree, our relationship will be
ruined. I don’t even know if I should attend the wedding, much less be a part of it.”
That’s a very hard decision, but if you go, what you’re doing is saying, “I bless
this union, and I agree that what you’re doing is right.” You know, the Bible is
so clear about homosexuality, and when you read in what Paul said, “Wherefore God gave
them up,” and having given them up, they did evil things with their own bodies, men
for men and women with women, and defaming their bodies. Read Romans. Read the Book of
Romans. This isn’t something I came up with. Read it in Romans. So you say, “Should I
go to my sister’s wedding? Should I participate?” The answer is to tell your sister, “Look,
I love you, but I cannot participate in a ceremony which is contrary to God’s Word.
Period.”
Yeah.
And if she doesn’t like it, if that breaks the union between you, that’s tough luck;
you’ve got to stand for it.
I think how you deliver it, as you said, has everything to do with how it’s received.
Oh yeah, yeah, with love. Her sister has to understand that this isn’t something that
you can approve of.
Yeah.
All right.
This is Jeanine who says, “I’ve heard you pray for people in the past and mention
specific ailments. Is it possible that those ‘words of knowledge’ are meant for more
than one person?”
Absolutely. Sometimes many people have the same condition, and they say, “Hey, that
was me.” Well, hey, you know, it’s like the Bible wasn’t meant for one person, you
know. Luke writes, “Here, Theophilus, I want to tell you something,” and then that
has been used by millions of people for blessing, so.
Yeah.
No, no, the word of knowledge is meant for whoever. Okay.
You know, the other day we were talking about that new show, I think it’s on ABC, called
GBS.
Yeah.
Or GS—what is? Yeah, GBC.
Yeah, that’s right. Yeah.
GCB? GCB. Okay. This person is saying, this is Jason who says, “Just out of curiosity,
what do you think would happen if ABC released a show called Good Muslims B******.
The head of ABC would probably be assassinated, and the studio would be blown up by radicals.
Christians are very forgiving, and they allow stuff to happen. This, I think, has gone over
the edge of blasphemy and ridicule.
Yeah. I know it’s meant to be funny.
Yeah, yeah.
But there is something psychologically in it that diminishes the real.
Well, you know, in the southern culture, you know, “He’s a good Christian; she’s
a good Christian," and they can be back biting, they can be nasty, they can be, you know,
greedy, and they’re good Christians. So that’s what they were taking off on. I don’t
know if . . . .
Well, it would be one thing to have a character like that in an ongoing series, but to title
something that is a little over the top, I think.
Well, I mean, it’s not going to play long, I don’t think. It’s got a short shelf
life, because people won’t even acknowledge they’re watching it. All right.
Okay. This is Ann who asks, “Please help me understand a quote. Ronald Regan once said
to a group of religious broadcasters, ‘I know how much you respect and strongly support,
as I do. the separation of church and state.’ Why would he have said that? And why would
he think that religious broadcasters would agree with ‘separation of church and state’?
Well, he’s got to play to the popular perception that there is a separation. The Constitution
says nothing about separation of church or state. The Constitution is very clear. I remember
talking to a Supreme Court judge who said to me, “It’s very clear; Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment or religion, not separation of church and state.”
But what was Reagan doing? He was playing to the popular perception. And if you go contrary
to that perception, then they’re going to beat up; because the people don’t understand
that Constitution, and they don’t understand history.
Well, Monday on The 700 Club, we’ve got a cheating husband busted by his wife online.
Today we leave you with these words of 1st Corinthians . . . .
. . . .“Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Have the victory over the weekend, and we’ll see you on Monday. Bye-bye.
Monday . . . .
I was pretty crushed. I was devastated.
Caught in the act . . . .
I just totally lost it.
. . . . a husband gets busted . . . .
She knew something was up.
. . . . for having an online affair.
That kind of conversation should not have taken place between somebody else and my husband.
What fixed his cheating heart?
What do you do at that point? I mean, I just spilled and told Erin, and then she left.
Monday, on The 700 Club.
Where are we?
I cannot look in on our time or location. Ah!
Amazing. Which tribe is he from?
You want the Savior of the world to be born in a stable?
Chris: History’s in the making, mister.
Do you want it or not?
Daniel, you have to listen to us.
And who might you be?
You’re in great danger.
Ah!
Disciple: Master, master! We’re about to drown!
Why are you fearful?
I say to you arise.
I have been healed!