Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. This is Carl and crew.
Mornings, helping you take your next step with Jesus. That's what we're all about here.
Ali, do you. Have you ever counted your steps? Have you ever worn some sort of a tracker?
It's funny that you say, oh, steps. I thought you were meaning steps with Jesus. Uh, yeah, I have. Do you still have your step tracker?
Oh, I do. And my daughter wears one, too. So she's always trying to compete with me.
That's great.
It's never even a competition. Mom, how are your steps doing? I'm somewhere around 3400. I have 11,000. It's always way more. So mom doesn't take nearly as many steps in a day as my active 13 year old.
All we need you to take today is one giant step.
Just one.
And we've got some content that will help you do that. Does anyone else glad it's God's battle and not ours?
You can say that again twice.
About every day.
Man. How do we get aligned with the God who? It's his battle, and yet he wants us to be overwhelmed by his grace and power in our life. All right. What's the best formation you guys love to see? I mean, you know, I use a marching band as a metaphor because it's.
Oh, yeah.
Have you ever seen those videos where the bands are running into one another?
I haven't, but it sounds funny enough to. I need to check that out.
No. Have you super tight? Have you seen him?
Oh, yeah. Like I said, and I love the, like, the 1 or 2 little stragglers.
No, that's the stragglers. I, I was always freaked out because I was in band for a little bit. We had to do a parade. Oh. And I told I remember telling our band director because this was like the beginning of the end for me. I was already getting burned out on this. And I played the French horn for ten years, if you can believe it. How does a guy mush the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race and play the French horn? Those don't go together.
They're multifaceted.
No, that's. Well, thank you for that, Ali.
But that's.
Not it. Let's go with that. Okay, but but I got out of that one quick because the marching band thing was crazy. You had to walk and keep your lips on this mouthpiece.
Yeah.
And on top of it, I had braces for my buck teeth. So I had to be careful. In fact, I wore these wax things. You guys are seeing me in here, but you can't see me out there. But where these where these wax things. You press the wax over the braces. Otherwise, when you pushed your lips against that mouthpiece, I would gouge up my lips.
Oh, wow.
Oh, yeah.
Braces are sharp.
Yeah.
And then my, uh, private French horn teacher, Dan Heinen. He was quite a guy. This guy could flap play the French horn. Oh, my goodness, was he amazing?
Dan Heinen doodle doodle doodle doodle.
Anyway, I digress, but he told me, well, that don't put wax on there because you shouldn't be pressing that hard against your lips. So I didn't do it for a while, and then I came back and my my lips are like hamburger.
Oh.
Oh! Ew. That's so gross.
Oh, that sounds really painful.
No.
Well, it wasn't good.
No, no, it was not.
No. 14 year old should have bloody lips from playing the French horn, for crying out loud.
So, did.
You like.
The marching band formation aspect of.
It? Well, I, you know, we did a few moves going down Fourth Avenue in, in Anchorage, Alaska. We did a few moves, but they weren't like marching band moves, but they were just enough to make me feel like Gomer Pyle.
Oh.
If you've ever seen that movie you know he gets out of step and he can't get in step. And it's like and I wasn't the worst I wasn't one of those stragglers. But we had one drummer man. He got all messed up. He's like heading the other direction. Oh no it was da dum dum dum da dum da dum da dum. If you're old enough. Notice the rise I got out of everyone in the studio here. Boom crew. As I mentioned Gomer Pyle being out of step. Full glazed donut looks here. They have no clue.
I don't know who it is you know.
But you know the opening to that thing where he can't keep in step.
Oh absolutely. Oh yeah.
Was that from the Andy Griffith Show?
No.
Yes. He was a character. Yes.
Yeah, he was a character in Andy. Yeah. You're right.
Okay. And the show kicked off from there.
He had his own show, a spin off.
A spin off.
Yeah, I just know the the little Shazam. Like this. Shazam! Yeah. I don't know anything else.
We're totally clued in here.
Okay, so here's the deal. Let me get us back on track here since I got us way off track. What's the most beautiful formation you have ever seen? Is it geese that are migrating north?
That's a good one. I think for me, it's, uh, synchronized Olympic diving. That's a good formation.
What are you on about? Super dive.
You love the water. I was just surprised he picked that. It was more of like not laughing at the answer, but like that.
It was Jonathan's answer.
Yeah. Yeah.
I love I it's it's the Chinese that do the minimal splash thing.
I know it's insane.
They do.
That. They're very good at it. I don't I do not get it.
All right. Other great formations that you love.
I like to see birds fly in formation. I find that to be fascinating. And I remember being at a stoplight one time, and this was in the middle of, of Chicago. So it was kind of odd to just look up and see this. And these birds, they were in the perfect vee. And then all of a sudden it was like they all just took a dive left and they all did it except for like three birds. And so they were kind of like your straggler marching bands. There were like some straggler birds.
That.
Like, missed the memo that, hey, we're going to take a left. But I thought, wow, I just stared at the sky because I find the way that they move in sync to be totally awe inspiring. Like how?
How do they.
It's amazing in Information.
I love dance chorus line like in the ballet. The ensemble of a really beautiful ballet. And that whole group of just. Just the dancers in sync. Oh, beautiful.
Oh, how about the Rockettes?
Well, there you go.
I mean, that is an amazing thing, watching the Rockettes like those high kicks. Yeah, those high kicks and stuff. That's an epic formation thing. Okay, coming up here, what we're going to be talking about is formation. We're going to talk today about formation of the will. Now I need to warn you ahead of time. We've got so much content in here today on the formation of the will. And the central passage is Jesus on the Mount of Olives. Not my will, but yours. Be done. What a model.
What a model. It's epic. So we're going to break that down here today. But you're going to want the show cast already. So we're going to give it to you right now because there's no way unless you hang around for a full two hours, You're not going to get all this content today. Take it away. Ali. How do they get the showcase?
Just text show to 800 555 78, 98. Just that one word show to 800, 555, 78, 98. You'll get that back links for both iPhone and Android. So you're all set. Show 800 555 7898.
Not my will, but yours. Be done. Getting aligned with our Savior. Well, spiritual formation is are one of my favorite topics on the planet because at the end of the day, we can be born again and still out of sync with God. Fair enough guys.
Yeah, absolutely.
What do you mean by what do we mean by spiritual formation?
You know, let's just break it down. This simply. I'm going to use a Dallas Willard quote. Spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to a spirit driven, Holy Spirit driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself. That's Dallas Dallas Willard, one of the foremost modern authorities. He's gone on to his
reward on spiritual formation, divine conspiracy. Phenomenal book. Guys. If you can get through the first third, you made it home and you'll get to back half. It'll be beautiful. But it's, um. It's an amazing thing to look at Jesus himself on the Mount of Olives, and he's facing crucifixion and he says, oh, God, if you can take this cup from me, that'd be great, but not my. Will yours be done? Now, our savior modeled something powerful. But there's a few things you've got to know about
God's sovereign will. And in just a couple of minutes, we're going to break it down. Three things you need to know about God's sovereign will. This will anchor you big time. This is like revolutionary stuff when you get this etched in your etched in your brain and in your soul and in your spirit, it'll change everything. Hang on.
Start your day moving closer to Jesus. You're listening to Carl and crew.
I am so giddy today. I can barely stand it.
Really?
Yeah, I am fired up.
Why does this get you so excited?
This topic we often don't talk about kind of the path to sanctification, and that is a big fancy word for growing up in Jesus. But the spiritual formation of our will, getting aligned with God's who. Katie, bar the door and we're going to break it down. What is God's will for you? We're going to be hitting that later on this hour, but let me just break down a few here, Ali, if I could. And I want
to give correct attribution. By the way, if you ever learn something from someone and then you repeat it, give attribution.
I love that word. As a former journalist, attribution is really, really important. Tell us where you got your information.
Yeah. So in Wayne Grudem systematic theology, he breaks down what he believes are kind of the three big buckets of things you need to know about God's sovereign will. Let me let me riff through them here. And then I'm going to let you guys comment on these and we'll take them one at a time. God's sovereign will is hidden until it happens. Fascinating. Look at this. Deuteronomy 2929. The secret things of God belong to the Lord our God.
But the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of his law. Here's the deal God's sovereign plans are often hidden from us until they unfold, but his revealed will is given for our obedience. So the secret things belong to the Lord. But the things that are revealed belong to us. In other words, whatever God shows us, do it. But oftentimes, God's will will not be revealed
until Bada Bing, it shows up. Fair enough. We see that in our life, right?
Yeah, I've seen that in mine. And you know, my dad's a pastor in something that he said to me before about God's will. He's like, I feel like God doesn't show us his will sometimes, because we like to give our own input about how his will might need to be changed and and how things may need to be different to fit what we want. And so I kind of like the fact that God doesn't let us in on everything all at once, all the time, because I am prone to try to go my own way.
Okay, so can I kind of push back just a little bit what I think someone might say to this. Okay, so someone who would maybe be skeptical, say would, well, basically you're saying that anything that happens once I see that it happens, I can say that that was God's will.
Absolutely. God is sovereign over all things. Now, the sovereignty of God does not delight in. And I'm going to get to a third point here. God's sovereign will does not delight over tragedy, but in a broken and fallen world. He will leverage those things. So this is a this is a difficult topic because this leads to the question of why does a good God let evil persist? Sure. And that's one of those that we're going to have to spend a week on down the road. Uh, in fact,
we hit that hot topic here. When was that? Six, eight months ago. We brought in. I forget his name, but it's a good topic, and it's a hard one because you're like, oh, God, why does this happen? But sometimes God's sovereign will is hidden until it happens. And when it happens, it's like, wow, that's tough. In fact, that leads to the third point. But let me hit the second first here, Ali. That's great. I mean, let's
always be honest with it here. Sometimes God's sovereign will you look at it and you go, wow, you allowed that to happen. And the answer is he did. And that's tough. The second one, though, is really good. And there's a red thread of redemption in it here. God's sovereign will cannot ultimately be thwarted. Remember, this is Isaiah 46 nine through ten. Remember the former things of old,
for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose. God's purposes are going to prevail, guys. Nothing can hinder his plans. Now, I think the encouragement of that one. Ali, is it kind of buffers the first one. His his will is hidden until it happens, but ultimately his ultimate plan cannot be thwarted. What do
we know from Scripture? We know that those who are in Christ Jesus have this new Jerusalem, this new abiding relationship with God for eternity. And we hold on to that knowing that's coming and that will cannot be thwarted. Anyone else fired up about that?
Absolutely.
We can't mess it up. We can't somehow do something. And then all of a sudden God's scrambling, going, okay, I had this plan, but now Carl did this. And so now I got to figure out a way to. No it doesn't. We don't have the power to thwart what he's going to do.
Yes. And then I think this third point that Wayne Grudem highlights, that's so good is probably one of the greatest encouragements for why do evil things happen. So I think this will answer it. God's sovereign will. Number three involves both good and evil. Genesis 50, verse 20. You guys might remember this story, Joseph. As for you, he spoke to his brothers. You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about, that many people should be kept alive as they are today. Boom!
How encouraging is that?
Yeah, it is encouraging because broken things are going to happen in a broken world. But the fact that God can say, listen, I'm not going to take away every broken thing right now, but I am going to use them for my glory and I'm going to use them to prosper you. And I think that that's important is that even when hard things happen, God is still letting them happen for our good.
Yeah. I mean, and this all this does scripture echoes this truth from beginning to end. And then James, the half brother of Jesus, my favorite, maybe my one of my favorite passages in the New Testament is James one two through four. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops, perseverance and perseverance Parents must finish its work so that you may be mature
and complete, lacking in nothing. That's it. What a great example. That's Joseph's story. So there were greater purposes even through evil. So God's sovereign will involves both good and evil. Not perfect, is it?
What do you mean, not it?
It. If we could script this thing out, we'd have heaven right now.
Absolutely.
Yeah. I mean, there's a remember a pastor saying one time that to live as a Christ follower, you have to be comfortable with a certain element of mystery. I mean, you can, depending on the really hard thing you're facing right now to hear that this is God's will for your life, but he'll use it maybe doesn't feel so satisfying in this moment. It might feel a little hollow if we're just being honest. You're facing the worst case scenario in whatever you're dealing with and you're going, okay,
I'm I'm trying to make sense of it. I'm trying to trust that God's going to use it for good. But maybe you're not there just yet. What do you say to that, Carl?
All things work together for good. For those who love God. Those that are called according to his purpose. I've got I, I, I anchor myself in truths like that. I anchor myself in James one two through four. And you need to. To Allie's right. You're getting up this morning and you're facing something. You're like, Carl, I don't want this. I get that. We does anyone here not get that? Don't we all get that?
Oh, yeah, we get that.
And yet I've lived long enough to see things that I went through. Soul crushing up in the middle of the night crying. Yeah. Grown man crying 3 a.m.. Am only to see his wife crying so I can I got now I've got my. My buddy can't comfort me because I got to comfort her and we got to comfort each other and it's hard. And yet I can look back at that and I can say it is well with my soul because I saw God use it. Is it easy? No, it stinks man. But God is
sovereign over all things. Coming up, we're going to break this down. In fact, I'm going to illustrate this in a really cool way. When Jesus prayed, not my will, but yours be done, he displayed something, didn't he? It's like, hey, um, is there any way you can get me out of going to the cross and bearing the sins of this world on my shoulders? Is there any way? But if not, your will be done. And the question is, is that
good enough? Coming up, I'm going to try to give a picture of this from my first sled dog I ever had in my life. It might paint a pretty clear picture. Guys, ever go adopt a pet?
Eh, no.
Oh, yeah.
Yes.
For sure.
Oh, sorry. Just me?
Well. It's okay. Mine was for 24 hours. You remember?
You remember that, I remember that.
Oh, I remember, we remember that. That was.
Well, was that the dog that pooped all over the house and wouldn't stop?
Yes. Uh, that was in all in all honesty, I the the purchase was, uh, a heart purchase. It was a little premature in terms of what we could handle, what I could handle. I'll say that. Uh, I agreed, say, let's get this dog. Got it. Uh, you know, waking up early for a morning show. This dog did not want to go to bed. Sitting there crying, I stayed up all night trying to calm down and help him, and I let him out of his crate and was like, maybe the space will help. He just walked out and
then he started pooping everywhere. And he was running. He was running and he was pooping and it was horrible. And I was getting sick. And I'm sitting on the ground, dry.
Heaving, dry.
Heaving. I'm dry heaving at 3:00 in the morning and I haven't slept one lick. And, uh, and then later.
In the night, it's God's will that this guy go back.
I said, I said, uh, I think Jonathan bit off a little more than he can chew. Uh, sweet wife of mine. Can we take him back? It's it's not too late. He hasn't attached himself to us. Can we just give him right back? And we did. Oh, man.
Oh, boy.
Well, if you want a story that went a little bit better.
I.
Adopted. I went down to the dog pound in Anchorage, Alaska, and I now had a full blown passion to someday compete in the Iditarod trail race. And you know how you start. You get one dog and I went down and I'm walking up and down death row, basically in the Anchorage dog pound. Yeah. And I'm looking up and down and my heart's breaking because all these guys, most of them are like, hey, take me. And it's it's tough, man. It's tough.
It's tough.
And I look down and I see this. I see this quiet girl, beautiful husky. And she's not asking, take me. She's just huddled up and looks sad as could be. I said, hey, come up here. And she got up, came to the fence and started licking me through the fence. And I said, dad, this is my first husky. He said, all right, Carl, let's get him. Took her home and I don't know why I named her this. I have no clue, but named her target. Maybe I was aiming for something, right?
There you go. And.
You know, I've. I started working with her and she was oh my goodness, she was a piece of work. I loved that girl. But boy, she didn't know anything about pulling in in a harness. I'm like girl, you're you're you're bred for this. This is.
You're a husky.
You're a husky. You got to. We got to go now. And I started putting plastic sleds with logs in them and kind of walking in front of her around the yard. And pretty quick, she's getting this thing and we start getting a couple more dogs, and she's getting into the team and she's working pretty well. And then it came time for me to get with a good friend of mine, and he's got a big string of dogs, and he was going up above the tree line in Anchorage and
up an area called flattop. And we we went up there. He invited me to come along. He said, bring that. Bring that first dog of yours, target. Let's see how she does in a big, big dog team. I said great. Well, she had now bonded with me big time, and she was used to me getting out in front to get them going and all that. It's like, oh boy, here we go. The dogs are just screaming to go. And she's just like, I'm man, I'm I, I'm. She was ready. She's jumping in the harness. I'm like this is great.
So I run back to the sled and I jump on the runners with my buddy. My buddy was about 30 years older than me. He was actually my pastor. And he pulls the snowhook, which is the dog mushing emergency brake, and off they go. Except target. She's sitting on her booty, looking back at me, getting drug at terminal velocity down the trail.
Oh no.
No no.
And I'm like, whoa, target. Get up, get up girl, this is not going to feel good for you. Couldn't get her going. My buddy stops the team and he says, why don't you run out in front of her, run down the trail and hide behind a tree. So. I did, so I ran down the trail, jumped off the trail, hid behind a tree, and I looked through the branches and he let that team go. And she is full steam. I mean, she was pulling the whole team. She's like, I've got to get Carl. I got to find him,
got to find him, got to find my buddy. And they go scooting on by. I quietly jump out of where I was hiding, jump onto the runners as a sled as it's going by. He didn't hit the brakes and she's going great until she turned around looking for me and she sees me back there. Boom! Plops on her booty again.
She goes, all right, I'm done. I found.
Him.
She's like, hey, stop this, stop this thing. My buddy's behind me again. Coming up here in a few minutes, I want to tell you the rest of the story with target. It's a beautiful story, and it's going to reveal for us how a relationship with God can start to align our lives with him, even when he asks us to do things that we aren't naturally made to do. Not my will, but yours be done. Rest of the story coming up.
Your spiritual pit stop to keep you going in the race. You're listening to Carl and crew.
Not my will, but yours. Be done. Jesus said it on the Mount of Olives found in Luke 2224. What a model our Savior put on display. Did that have to be cited in the Gospels three times, by the way? No. It's there. Why? Listen, we are disciples of Jesus Christ, and he paved the way for us. I'm telling a story about my first sled dog, target. She was quite a girl, really? For a sled dog. Well built, you know. It's. She wasn't higher in the hind quarters than the front.
Sometimes you get dogs that are built that way. That's not ideal for sled dog mushing. And she had a she had a great build for sled dog and she had great heart. As I continued to train target and next few years went by, she got stronger and stronger in that team. She wasn't the highest performing dog, but she was a good, faithful team dog. She was never in wheel right in front of the sled. She was
never in lead. A couple of times that I tried to put her in lead, she would just look back at me like, man, this is this is not my jam, Carl. This is not what I made to do. And I had a certain affection for her because she was the first one I got into a race year before I competed in the Iditarod Trail Race. It was a 200 mile sled dog race. I actually got a waiver to
compete against adults. I was 17, but I got a waiver to compete because I appealed that I was getting ready for the Iditarod and they said, all right, we're going to we're going to let you do this thing. And I wanted to make a good showing in this race. I didn't want to let them down and go, oh, great. 17 year old gets lost in 200 mile dog sled race and dies thanks to the adults. That said, go ahead and do it. I didn't want to do that. I got out into this race and we were flying.
I had an amazing team, but they had a poor musher and I was letting these guys go too fast, too soon. And we had 100 miles to go on this first leg of the race. I was about 30 miles into it and I was in second place. And I shouldn't have been, I should have, I should have slowed the team down. I was going way too fast, and my lead dogs just started to kind of drop on me. They were getting a little bit discouraged. It can be a lot of head pressure on a sled
dog when they're running lead, especially at that pace. And I had a couple of lead dogs go down, and by this time I'm on the big Susitna River when my final lead dog began to go down. And when I say go down, it just means that they their tug line loosens up, they look back and they're like, I got to stop now. And they just sit down and the whole team balls up around them. Now I'm getting nervous. It's getting cold. Teams are passing me. I'm
trying to swap other dogs up in lead. I start going through the team, going through the team and guys, I'm out of lead dogs. I've got no one that's got the stuff to lead this team. And I'm thinking the only way I'm going to get my leaders to get out here and lead this team and continue in this race, get me off this river for which I'm stuck, and it's well below zero, and the wind's about to pick up. And I'm like, man, we got a problem here.
And I went to my final dog, target. And I got down on that riverbed on my knees, and I looked her square in the eyes. And I said, girl, we've been together a long time. Goodness sakes, I'm going to get choked up here. I said, girl, we've been together a long time here and I need your help. I know you're not a leader, but the rest of this team is fried. And I'm just wondering, would you help me out? Because she understood what I was saying. I unclipped her from team, not knowing what she'd do.
I put her up in single lead. No other dog with her. I snapped both tug lines to her. That normal normally would have been one for each dog and dual lead, and put her in single lead? Walk back to those runners. I said, target girl, are you ready to go? She looked back at me and she gave me one big lunge at that tug line like, let's go.
Oh, wow.
I pulled the snow hook. We got off the big Sioux. She leaned into that harness for another 40 or 50 miles. When I'd stop to snack them with little bits of salmon head and different snacks that I had, she would look at me like, let's go again. And we would go again. I ultimately got to the halfway checkpoint. My dad was concerned I was way behind the whole pack of mushers. He didn't know what was going on out there. My dad had his headlamp on by now. The sun's
long been set. It's the middle of the night. And I remember my dad greeting me at the halfway point. Targets pulling hard and lead. The team goes by him and he gives me a big hug as I'm standing on the sled runner as he goes, what's going on? I said, man, we were stuck. He said, targets in lead. I said, yeah, targets in lead, dad. I had a talk with her on the big Sioux and she agreed she'd do this thing for me. You know, I never asked target to lead again. We made a deal that day,
but she got me those hundred miles. And I share that story just to highlight for you that sometimes God is going to ask you to do things that seem very hard. You might not feel geared for it or wired for it. But if you can be a person today that says not my will, but yours be done. I think you're going to get a big old hug from God at the at the finish line of this trial that he's calling you to go through. I think it'll be beautiful. I've often thought about target. And how
her story relates so much to mine and yours. We go through life and we hear the voice of God saying, I want you to have this tough conversation. God, I don't do tough conversations. I want to call you to leave this town. God. All my family's here. I want you to move to a new job. I want you to step up to be a small group leader. God, I'm not a small group leader. And if you listen closely. You might hear the father kneel down beside you, saying, I need you for this stretch of the race. I
need you for this stretch of the race. Not my will, but yours be done. So I just want to ask you today. Do you hear the voice of God? Is there something he's calling you to do that you feel like I'm not wired for that? Could you get someone else? Could you? Could you tap someone else on the shoulder? But if you listen closely, you might in fact hear the voice of God calling you, saying, I need you for this role today. And here's the beauty of it.
There's a lot of targets out there. That would stand and testify today. We got there. I got a big old hug from God. And it worked out. Well, God call you back into that position again? I don't know. But when you say not my will, but yours be done. Amazing things can happen today. I want that for you. We want that for you. Let God lead. Have you
underestimated the power of your testimony. Possibly if you go into the book of revelation, the linchpin turning point is in the tribulation about half way through, and I'm going to back up and get some context here for one of the coolest verses of the power of your spoken testimony. Go all the way back to verse seven in chapter 12 of revelation. Now war arose in heaven. Michael the archangel and his angels fighting against the dragon and the
dragon and his angels. So this is Satan. And all his demonic forces fought back, but he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who was called the devil, and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. This is where we get the theological premise and context for how Satan deceives, thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Verse ten. And I heard a loud voice, This is John now repeating what he heard from from Jesus himself in heaven, saying, now the salvation and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down or could be translated. Brothers and sisters has been thrown down. Who accuses them day and night before our God? So here we have in a few short verses. He's the accuser. He is the deceiver. But
now he's thrown down. Theologians say this is the linchpin verse that I'm about to read, where everything shifts in the spiritual realm. Verse 11, and they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony. For they loved not their lives, even unto death. Here's what's going on. There are, no matter where you're at theologically, whether you're eschatology is that we are going to be here through the tribulation or the
church is raptured out before the tribulation. There are God's kids who are so radically transformed that they stand strong no matter the cost, even under the point of death. And it's through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the testimony of brothers and sisters that this all happened. Pretty powerful ally.
When you think about the power of testimony. I mean, we would probably share our testimony more if we read this verse every morning.
Yes. And this is why ally gets so fired up. And so many of you have been bolstered because there's something about hearing people's stories. It's why when you go to a church on a weekend, you hear someone's story. It's. whoa, good. It fuels you, it inspires you. It takes away some fear, possibly in you. But Ali has a whole podcast committed to this. This is what you do, right, Ali?
Yeah. I've got over 100 testimonies that I've been able to collect and share over the last 3 or 4 years, and each one of them is unique. There's the pivotal moment that shaped your faith in Christ. That's the premise of it. And so people go a lot of different directions. And I've gotten to talk to higher profile guests. And then one person who we asked, hey, do you want to be on this podcast? And she said, what's a podcast?
So that's awesome.
She's 82 years old and she'd never heard of a podcast.
So awesome.
That's the full gamut.
What do you think a podcast is? If you've never heard it and you hear it for the first time? It's like, uh, pea pods. You're casting them out into the wind. I don't know. What would a podcast be? A sleeping pod that you cast into the lake?
I don't.
Know. I don't know. Oh. That's precious. So I want you to get it. If you have not heard these stories and you want something more than Doomscrolling cat videos, we got it for you. Text the word snap to 855 five 7898. Text snap to 855 five 7898. The hope of Jesus Christ has been planted in you. You've been transformed by God and you've been asked on one occasion, where in the world does this hope come from? And God gave you a t ball setup to share the
good news. The power of testimony. Are you kidding me? Revelation chapter 12, verse 11. And they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony. For they loved not their lives, even unto death. Oh my goodness, what an inspiring vision of those in the middle of the tribulation who are being used by God so powerfully that, yes, the blood of the lamb who saved them. But through the word of their testimony, Satan is deported from the presence of God.
Everything shifts in this verse in revelation 12. Everything changes going forward because of a spoken word of testimony.
You know, for me, this reminds me of a couple years ago I went to a wedding of my old high school buddy, and I was in in the wedding party, and so was another friend of ours from high school. And he isn't saved. And I wasn't at the time I knew him, but I was going to church all the time and, you know, but at the time he knew me in high school, I was living a very double life. He knew I went to church. I invited him to church sometimes, but then we would go and
run off and do crazy things together. That absolutely proved that I didn't know God. And and so we we got together and were talking and he was like, dude, I think you'll be really excited. He goes, I'm doing a lot of like, spiritual searching right now. Um.
Wow.
And I was like, oh, this is awesome. And I said, well, dude, I was like, let me tell you about what God's been doing in my life lately, because this was this was just a couple years after I got genuinely saved. And so I was able to talk to him and say, hey, man, like, I know when you knew me in high school, I was, you know, I was going to church and I was doing all these things. And I said, but I don't I didn't really know God at the time. And I was like, I was living this life this way. And
it was a wreck. And I go, but now he's really changed me. And there are these things. And I specifically laid them out and said, he's pulled these out of my life and he's allowing me to thrive in this way. And it was it was a great experience to be able to share with someone who I shared Jesus in an incorrect way in the past, but was able to say, hey man, I was wrong in that way. I lived Jesus for you. And I was like, now I can. Now he's changed me. And it was it was really cool.
Oh, wow. Well, did he seem receptive? He he.
Surprised.
He did seem receptive. I think he was. He was very you know, I don't I don't think it it brought him to Jesus. I, I pray it planted a seed, but but he seemed really like. Oh, that's cool man. I'm I'm happy that this is what's going on in your life. And so he was at least receptive and not, you know, pushing me off.
That's awesome.
That's beautiful. What's your story, Anthony? In Illinois. Thanks for holding on. What's your story, my man?
Hey, Carl. Ali, young son. I love you guys so much. I'm a soldier. And recently I got awarded a little coin for. For my hard work during this most recent exercise. And one of the traditions when you receive an award is everyone yells speech! Speech. So? So I. My heart was beating so fast. I was so nervous. But I was just praising the Lord in my heart. I'm like
alright Lord. So I had an opportunity to tell everyone that it was because of my relationship with God that I was behaving the way that I was and and that I primarily tried to serve him to the best of my abilities. And, uh, I was too nervous to really get the whole gospel out. That was about it. And then everyone clapped for me. But later on that day, um, I got approached by one of my other fellow soldiers, and he was like, hey, man, you know, there's something,
something different about you. You know, you always talk about God and and, you know, you're always kind of chill. And it was it was just a really it was a really amazing experience for me to see how God's working in me and around me. And I just was praising the Lord that day.
Boom boom boom. I'm triple booming, you soldier. Couple of things. Number one, thanks for serving.
Thanks for being a man. And thanks for being a man in the moment who spoke up for your God. Thank you. No speech required right now. You just get to.
Say.
All right.
I'm too nervous.
No, you just got a copy of your book, Carl Killing Sin.
And I'm going through it, and it's a it's a great book, so thank you.
Thank you Anthony. Epic.
That's awesome.
Man. Wow.
What a blessing.
How beautiful is that.
Yeah. And that's a that's a hard thing to do to talk about your faith in Jesus in front of all the guys who, you know, might have the possibility of just ribbing you later for it, but it planted a seed.
Speech, speech, speech.
I'd like to thank my mom.
And my handlers.
I'd like to.
Thank.
I'd like to thank Sergeant Goomba sheets over here. I'd like to thank I'd like to thank the US Air Force or military. I'd like to know. Let me tell you, I want to thank God.
Amen.
Way to go, Anthony, man. You know, one of the greatest evidences that you've been transformed by God is that when you're asked to give a reason for the hope that lies within you, you. Yeah. A little bit of weak in the knees, of course. Are you kidding me? I'm convinced. Peter, on the day of Pentecost was not like I got this. He was clinging to Jesus the whole way through that message. The whole way through it, he was clinging to Jesus. There's no way he's like, ah, yeah,
I got this. Because he remembers back to when he denied Christ, and now he's filled with the Holy Spirit, and he's like, I'm blazing a trail here. I'm blazing a trail here. Ooh, how about Anthony Alley?
I love that story. And when he described that, sort of like the the heart racing lump in the throat when you when you're about to speak up. We've all felt that you're going, okay, how can I do this. And then by the power of the Holy Spirit, you open your mouth and you give glory to God.
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When you're teed up, how in the world do you get through this? What do you say? Phillip in Illinois. We haven't heard from you in a while. Phillip. Tee it up, my man. What's your answer?
You know something, man? That's so often I get people that say, dude, you're losing your sight. You're almost blind. You've been through tongue, neck and throat cancer. You've been through spinal fusion therapy, and yet you always have a smile on your face, and you always seem upbeat. How do you do it? And it's just a wonderful, you know, front porch for me to say. The Lord has shown me that he is sovereign in my life. I can choose to be either bitter or bitter. I choose better,
and I know that I serve a risen Savior. And what's more, I know that in heaven I will see colors like I never seen before in my life.
You know what, man? Only you can say that we can't tell your story for you. But, Philip, have there been moments when you're like, God, this glaucoma, this, this cancer. I mean, alone at night. There must be some discouraging moments where then God just gives you a big old hug, huh, bro?
Oh, absolutely, my friend. You know, I tell people all the time, there are moments, especially when I was losing my vision and dealing with cancer, where Heather and I, my wife and I would just kneel by the side of our bed and we would just weep. I mean, we would weep with just our shoulders shaking. You know,
snot flying tears. But, you know, at the end of that cry out that intercessory prayer, we would be able to laugh through our tears and know that God had us during the entire time, and that we knew, even though it was so hard and so painful, you know, that God was going to bring us through it. And there was such joy, not just on the other side crew, but there was such joy in this journey, in this struggle, because that's when you really know that you are God's child,
when everything seems to be going sideways. And yet you've got a northern star that never wavers, that doesn't leave. That's always right there.
Yeah. You know, our premise has been this morning, Philip. And hold on a second. Boom boom.
Boom.
I'm in triple boomed you, in a month of Sundays. But there's there's a notion, and I think a false one, that we need to be able to know now that we're going to be able to stand and deliver when we're asked for the hope that indwells us and to give reason for it. But don't you find, Philip, that it's in that moment that God shows up?
Oh, absolutely. You know, it's hard for us, even as Christ believers, to be able to rest comfortably in the already and not yet. You know, it's like what Max Lucado said, we want dessert, and sometimes God gives us broccoli. Okay. He knows that we need the broccoli. You know, and that's really where it is. We have to also be comfortable in the struggle. And I know that's that's a lot of theology, but, you know, sometimes it's just as simple as just what our old grandma used to say, son,
trust and obey. That's all.
You got to.
Do. Trust and obey.
They had it right. They did. I mean, we get so theologically bowed up, and then it comes back down to trust and obey. For there's no other way to.
No other.
Way.
Jesus, happy in.
Jesus.
Is to trust and obey. Come on.
Now. Come on man. I got half a mind to make Young Thunder sing that right now a cappella. But I won't do it to you.
Thank you. Thank you. It's time to prepare.
You can.
Do it.
I gotta.
Prepare.
I gotta prepare, Philip.
I love you, Phillip.
Thanks.
Thanks for calling in.
God bless you all. Absolutely.
It's in that moment, Ali, that God gives us the grace to deliver when it's teed up for us.
You know, it's it's encouraging because you can start to think about all of the bad things. I mean, talk about doom scrolling. You can start to think about all the bad things that can happen in life, and that can take you down a crazy road. I mean, from persecution to Philip mentioned, you know, going blind, cancer, battle back issues, all of these things. And your mind can go, how in the world could I possibly give glory to
God in the midst of that? Well, I think it's our daily preparation right now of seeking him, of taking our roots deep in him that prepares us for those tough moments when they come.
Yeah, no doubt about it. You know, he's shared this on air before, so I'm going to share it again. He lost a big contract. He lost his agent because he wouldn't take a script that a big production company. I mean, Philip's been on big screen and small screen.
Guys.
A lot. And that's that portion of the story is for him to tell. But the portion that he shared here before is he he lost his agent because he wouldn't take a role. So sometimes standing up and speaking out is costly, Ali. It's costly.
But even still, we trust that God will give us the grace in that moment and the courage to do the thing that he's calling us to do.
Yeah. I got to go back and read this again. Middle of the tribulation. Satan is thrown down. Why? And they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. For they loved not their lives, even unto death. Oh my goodness! That is a faith. That is solid and secure. That is powerhouse. And that's what God wants to do in you. You might say, Carl, I don't know if I got the stuff to speak up. If I had it teed up for me like a Philip. I don't know if I've
got the stuff. Well, we don't in and of ourselves, but the Spirit of God that indwells us has the stuff. All we've got to do is make sure that that connection is solid with God, day by day, moment by moment. Because then when the opportunity tees itself up, bam, you're going to hit a home run, you're going to do it. It's going to happen.
Walking closer to Jesus every day. You're listening to Carl and crew.
So I got my wife running some Intel for us. Ali.
You do?
Yep. Running Intel. She scoped it out. She said, hey, you know how much you've been wanting to talk about Iran and what God's doing over there? Well, I heard this guy on Janet Parshall Show and I said, well, who is he? Now we got him with us. I have been wanting to know forever what is God doing in Iran? And when you've got the Billy Graham of Iran? Ali, we got the right guy.
We do. His name is Doctor Shariat. He's the founder and president of Iran Alive Ministries, which uses satellite broadcasting and the internet to reach Iranians with the gospel.
What is going on, doctor? Shariat. What's God doing in Iran?
I hope your audience are ready to be shocked. Oh, good. Watch what you hear in the news is so bad. Oh, Iran. Nuclear bomb threat to the peace in the world and all that. The ayatollahs. But inside Iran, spiritually, there is another story. God is working. Iran is the first Islamic nation that's turning to Christ. And Islam is experiencing its greatest defeat in its history in Iran Today. That's what you don't hear on the news. And people of Iran,
they didn't. It didn't happen overnight. It took him 40 years of Islamic rule, that the people of Iran come to the conclusion that Islam is not the answer. Islam is actually the root of their problems and they need to get rid of it. Iranians are done with Islam, so very open spiritually to the gospel when they hear it. Oh, it resonates with their heart. They say, we don't believe in a God that's cruel like Allah. But when they hear about the love of Christ, they receive that with gladness.
Give us a little bit of your own background. Growing up in an Islamic household, you are a muslim background believer. Tell us your story.
Yeah, I was born in Iran, in an Islamic family. I was pretty devout in my early years, but when I got to be a teenager, I said, hey, memorizing these prayers and repeating them five times a day, what does it add to my life? Hey, just be a good person and pursue your dream. My dream was to come to the United States, get a PhD, be a
research scientist. So I work hard towards that. I came to us at the University of Southern California, USC, studying PhD in artificial intelligence, and that's when I said, hey, maybe there is God and you need to consider that. So I studied Quran. I wanted to be a good Muslim because I thought Islam is the last religion, best religion. Why don't I start with that? So I read Quran very carefully. It did not satisfy my soul out of
my intellectual pride. I said, If God has written other books, okay, I will read it. So I got a Bible and I read the Genesis, then said what is who is Jesus? I jumped to Matthew and oh my gosh, a crisis. This Jesus. Who is this Jesus? This is not the Jesus that Quran teaches me. Islam teaches me. So I struggled for a few months. Is Jesus true? I mean,
he makes such big claims. I went to a church in downtown Los Angeles, and that's where I heard the simple, simple message of the gospel that even a child can understand. You don't need to have a PhD to understand it, but it's powerful. It changes life and it changed my life.
Oh, doctor, who is serious here? Uh, what an amazing thing. Then God providentially did. Because I'm okay with languages. But for me to learn Farsi and to get geared up to evangelize those folks, that's a reach. But here you are now fully equipped to somehow, some way, go back to reach the people that you love. You got to share with us a story. Jesus transforms your life. You're now set free in Jesus. You must then want others to hear this, right?
Oh yeah. I hope everybody feels the same. You know, I was an engineer type. An introvert and nerd. I was more comfortable with books and then people. But when I got saved, I felt this way. And I hope everybody feels this way, that you are selfish if you keep this message to yourself. It's a powerful message that is an answer to your personal problems, to your addictions, to your anger, to your depression. It is a response
or it's a solution to your relational problem. You know, I was at the verge of divorce and Jesus healed my marriage. So it's an answer to even society problem. Why don't you share this powerful message with others? He does the work. You just share and God changes lives and saves people. So let's let's get God's heart on that.
Let's go. Okay, now I got to tell you, I am chomping at the bit to know what God is doing in Iran. Give us some facts and figures. Is there, as we hear, a movement of the spirit among the Iranian people?
Definitely, yes. According to an independent survey, Iran has the fastest growing evangelical population in the world in terms of rate of growth. Iranians are coming to Christ. They're open. They're questioning Islam. They're looking for God. They're looking at eastern religions. They're looking at New Age. And of course, they're looking at Christianity. They're looking everywhere for God except Islam. So this is the time that you and I, if we do our part, which is if we share the gospel,
we tell them about Jesus. There is no competition. But we have to say that's what we do in Iran, alive through satellite television. We go over the signal, go over the heads of the mullahs into people's homes, privacy of their homes. And I talked to them about God's love. And the government of Iran is mad, but they cannot stop that signal because it comes from the sky. And that's why people come to Christ. Um, so easy. They call me Billy Graham. And of course, I don't call
myself that. And my response is this Iranians are so open to the gospel that if you share the gospel with them, you too can be Billy Graham of Iran.
Oh.
I got to stop right here. And I got to praise the Lord. I'm sorry. We're going to do this right here. I got to stop right now. Father, I give you praise for what you are doing in Iran. Uh, for those beautiful people who are under the yoke of Islam and under the yoke of performance and and kneeling down, but no one to talk back with them. God, thank you that you're bringing them out of darkness into the light. In Jesus name, Amen.
Amen.
We have Doctor Shariat with us right now, founder and president of Iran Alive Ministries. He talked about the use of media. Iran Alive is the most watched Christian television channel in Iran. An independent survey of over 10,000 Iranians found that 7.7% of the population say it's their favorite channel.
That's what they told us. And by God's grace, you know, I don't know. I don't know why people of Iran like us, but they do. They love they sense the love that we have for them. You know, before I go before the camera and all of our stuff, I'm not the only one. People think I'm a televangelist. I'm not. I love people, and I. I'm a pastor kind of thing. When I go before the camera, I pray before that. God give your love for these people to my heart.
I want to love them. And you know what? Even though through camera, when you genuinely love people, they sense that, they sense that you truly love them and they're touched. Because in Islam, there is no love. Perfect love casts out fear. And that's the cast out is a spiritual warfare. We're we have a spiritual warfare with the spirit of Islam. And the best power that we have is our love, because it casts us the spirit of Islam. That's what we do in our channel. Love people, share the love
of Christ and many, many are coming to Christ. Let me share you just a recent story. On Fridays I have church service because that's their day off. We do church service, live church service on Fridays and the most watched program we have. You know, we have 24 over seven, but most watch program is our Friday service. And after my sermon we have like a two hour zoom open zoom. It's like a lobby where people come to meet their pastor and ask the pastor questions or get prayer. So
I go to an open zoom meeting last Friday. Just last Friday, for two hours, I was leading people to Christ. They were there, lined up. They would come share a little bit about themselves, ask a couple questions to make sure what they're doing. They know what they're doing and then pray to receive Christ. Now what is amazing, if you ask any missionary who works among the Muslims, this will be amazing to them even more. These people on Friday last Friday are leading people to Christ. They did
not have any questions. They didn't say, oh, how about Islam? Oh, why do you say Jesus is God? No, they were ready. They count.
To.
God and they would say, just I want to. I want to receive Christ. Do you have any question? No. And one of them was saying, hey, I was I was watching your sermon and I felt somebody is planting flowers in my mind, you know. Beautiful. Another one was saying I was eating dinner and I was watching you, and I just could not eat any more because my heart was filled with so much joy. This is what God is doing. Of course. Signs, wonders, miracles, visions, dreams also happens a lot.
Yeah.
What is the cost for the average Iranian who surrenders their life to Jesus Christ? What's at risk? What's going on in the real world?
The risk. The risk of being in jail for many years and even death. But the government of Iran is very afraid of Christians because they know we are growing fast. So their response, you know, they cannot put millions there. At least 2 million Iranian Muslim background believers in Iran right now. They can't put everybody in jail. So what they do is a campaign of fear and intimidation. How do they do that? They arrest a few people. And for minor Christian crimes, you can call that and put
them in jail. Just a couple weeks ago, three people were arrested. One of them beautiful young lady with a small child. They put her in jail for 17 years.
What was her crime?
Attending a house, church.
But it's not stopping the forward movement of God's kingdom, is it Hermosa?
No it's not. Working people are so desperate that they. You know, sometimes I'm more concerned about them than they among themselves sometimes say, hey, be careful. Be careful. You know, these young people say, I'm not afraid of this government. They are afraid of me. That's what they want to put me in jail. They're afraid of my message. Think of the desperation. These people have come to a point that they don't care to live or die. And that's when they find Jesus. So after they find Jesus, they
have dealt with death. You know, I have a program on politics. I had this young man. He was not a Christian when he was on my program. And he told me, I said, you're so brave. He was inside Iran. He had been arrested. He had been tortured. They had shot him multiple times. When he was outside, they tried to assassinate him, and he was showing his face on my program. And I said, hey, you're so brave. Tell me, why are you so brave? Aren't you afraid of being killed?
He said, no. I said, why? Why aren't you afraid? He said, because I love my people. I'm ready to give my life for my people. I said, I need to talk to you. So I talked to him. I talked to him a couple of times, and he came to Christ and he has become a political Christian activist. Right now. And he will be one of the future ministers of Iran when the government collapses.
I can barely take this. I'm so overjoyed and thrilled with your work.
Praise the Lord. It's all his grace, his spirit moving in Iran and we as Christians, we need to be awake. See what God is doing. Iran is the key to the Middle East and to the world. Can I shock your viewers another time? One more time? Yes. I make this outrageous statement. Iran will be a Christian nation and people say, are you crazy? Just. Just Google it. It's 98% when you Google it. I said, no, it's not 98%. And Iran will be Christians. And they say, where did
you get that idea? I tell them I stole it. Where did you steal it from? I stole it from the Lord in Jeremiah 4938. He promises in Jeremiah 4938. He said, I will set my throne in Islam. Islam is completely inside the land of Iran today. So we know Iran eventually be a Christian nation and sitting his throne. What does it mean? It means that Iran will be a blessing to the Middle East and the world. You know, Jesus loves the world. So wherever he rules, that could
be a sending nation. Iran will be ascending nation to the Middle East and the world, and we're approaching that very fast.
Doctor Shariat, our guests right now. If you want more on this ministry, Iran Alive Ministries, just text alive to 800 555 7898. Text alive to (800) 555-7898.
One of the things you're going to find there is Doctor Chariot's new book, Iran's Great Awakening, and I am going to read it cover to cover. Doctor, I got to tell you something. This has. absolutely lit a fresh fire in me today, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Godspeed to you, my friend. Would you pray for the people of Iran in Farsi before you go today?
Uh, yes, I will do that. Uh. Iran. Iran. Iran. Iran. Iran. That name is on me.
Amen.
Wow. Text alive to 800 555 7898. Just that one word. Alive to 800 555. 78. 98. And let's be in prayer for our brothers and sisters and those to be in Iran.