Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
Carl and crew helping you take your next step with Jesus. 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 halfway 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 unto 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 Ali gets so fired up. And so many of you have been bolstered because there's something about hearing people's stories. That's why when you go to a church on a weekend and you hear someone's story, it's so 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 800 555 7898. Text snap to 805 five five 7898. Everyone knows what I mean when I say doomscrolling cat videos, right?
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. It's the the time where you opened up the social media app and you said, I'm going to spend five minutes on this, and then you black out on cat videos and you wake up and it's been five hours.
Listen, we've all done that, man.
Oh, yeah.
Come on, come on. Confession time.
We've gotten.
On that. And I'd love to confess this, but I went through a season. Thankfully I'm out of it now. grew out of it went through a season where I was watching boats that hit docks.
Told me about that.
Every size boat and even even ships. And it's it's what I don't like is, well, I know I didn't see any where people got injured, but you see people, you know, it's like run for your lives. We've got someone on the catamaran that does not know what they're doing and whammo! And and then ships coming in. I've seen cruise ships and I won't tell you what company, but they come into dock and they've got too much
steam going and whammo! Entire piers are taken out. And I don't know why I got into this, but like two hours later, after watching boats run into docks, it's like, okay, uh, let's go on to something else.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let's move along.
So we got the other thing for you. Text snap to 800 555 7898. And by the way, I want to tell you it is a spiritual battle to stop doom scrolling stupid stuff into getting stuff that's valuable. No, straight up, it's a spiritual battle. Satan would much rather have you watch calico kittens that are playing for four hours than listen to one story on Ali. Snapshot. Testimony. Satan's like, watch the kittens, watch the kittens.
That distraction is one of the most powerful tools of the enemy.
What are you laughing about, young Thunder?
I just thought of just like, a little punchy line for, like, a sermon. Like, Satan loves cat videos. And I was like, what? But, oh, I love I love it drawn out and it's real. He does. He loves cat videos because he loves distraction.
Look, I don't want to get weird on this one.
No, I mean.
There's some Netflix are great, but when you watch four hours back to back, maybe not so much. You gotta let.
The Lord.
Lead you on that one. I'm not going to tell you what to be convicted of.
Give your mind a break.
Yeah. All right. Uh. Coming up. His name's Butch. He was asked a question. He's a high profile guy. You might have heard of him. And CBS news asked him the question, and thankfully, somebody found it on the cutting room floor, and we got it for you. Coming up straight ahead. Sometimes some of the best stuff hits the floor. You journalist Sally, sometimes miss the best stuff sometimes.
But this is a great interview.
He was running from God, but God's love brought him home. Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
Oh, no, I blew it, Ali. I blew it. Somebody texted me. Now I'm about to search boats that run into docks.
No joking.
Now. Oh, no. Don't do it. Don't do it.
Don't do it.
Go listen to testimony.
I know.
It's kind of fun.
But it's.
Kind of fun. I wish I could put you under a channel or two, but I don't even know how I find those things. But then when you click on them. The way social media algorithms work. Then you're like, man, this guy likes boats running into docks.
Oh, you like that?
Here's 56 other videos we think.
You might like.
They'll show you boats.
For.
A.
Month or so.
Oh, man, I don't know.
I told my wife, I said we should see what each other really kind of clicks on, because it would be hilarious because she gets she gets all these this cooking stuff, man. Which wood? Man? Talk about driving me to your Snapchat. Snapchat testimony page. Ali I'm the last thing I need is to watch someone cook. I watched that beat Bobby Flay or something like that.
Yeah, that was a good show.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that was that was good. Because Bobby usually wins and I love that. But I love these guys coming in trying to dethrone Bobby. Bobby Flay. Isn't that his name?
Bobby Flay. Flay not thought it was Flay because flavor.
Not to be confused with Flavor Flay.
I didn't even think I'd hear that.
Flavor Flav, love.
Isn't he the guy with the clock?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah. Can you imagine? The dude wears a clock that's like this, like 12in across.
Well, it's about the size of his torso.
Well, yes.
So 12in. He might be offended by that.
Oh, dude, I got.
12in across my torso. Flavor flav.
Oh, that is hilarious.
Okay, so listen, we're talking about testimonies. And the power of testimony during the tribulation is what we were talking about. Check it out in Romans. Uh, revelation 12. By the way, uh, but there is this clip from Butch, the spiritual stud muffin Wilmore. And he was stuck how many months when he did this?
Nine months.
So nine months into this space run that was supposed to last 8 or 9 days. And they're asking him, how in the world did you do it? Take a listen to this.
We're all the product of our life experiences, and this extended business trip of yours certainly qualifies. What is your life lesson or takeaway Away from these nine months in space.
Well, in answer to your question, I can I can tell you honestly, um, my feeling on all of this goes back to my faith. It's bound in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is working out his plan and his purposes for his glory throughout all of humanity. And how that plays into our lives is significant and important. And however that plays out. And I am content because I understand that. I understand that he's at work in all things. Some things are for the good. Go to
Hebrews chapter 11. Some things look to us to be not so good, but it's all working out for his good, for those that that will believe and and that's that's the answer. So thanks for asking.
Thanks for.
Asking.
I'm so glad you asked.
Part.
If you turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11.
Yeah, right.
That was so classic. As we find in Hebrews 11, as we find in Hebrews 11.
Yes, he's.
An elder at his church.
Yeah.
Is he.
Really?
He's been going to the same church in Texas for 17 years.
But I reached out to the church, so I'm praying we.
Got to get Butch.
On here. I've reached out, so we're working on it.
We got to get Butch in here.
That's so cool.
It's so cool. And, you know, the question is, do we speak up when somebody tees it up? I mean, it was teed up. I mean, what's he going to do? You know, I noticed one thing. Did you notice him licking his chops before he got into the answer?
I mean, no doubt.
He was licking his chops. Yeah.
Well, and you can hear the the lilt in his voice when he says, thanks for asking.
Thanks for.
Asking. Pops up.
Hold it.
Play that last little bit again. You got that last little bit.
I don't I have to when I, when I play the system I have to play it from the whole thing. From the whole thing.
Do we have a link? Because everyone's asking for a link. Oh, no. No, I just totally got us in trouble.
No. It's okay. Savannah, our. Our person who monitors the texts. She's been sending stuff out to people who are asking for it, so. All right, let me, uh, give me two seconds. I can pull up the clip here on my own.
Well, okay. Well, here's the deal. If you want the clip for Savannah. Just just text. What? No. That's going to give you something else. No, that'll. That's the key word. Just just text. No, just. Do we have a keyword for Butch?
No, I don't think so. Don't.
Okay.
So go. Butch. Go, Butch. Butch is good. Just text. Butch and Savannah will return it to you with a link.
All right, I've got the. I've got that one little part. Okay.
The one little part at the end. Ali's right. That's the. That's the payoff.
Here we go.
And and and that's that's the answer. So thanks for asking.
By the way. Got any more questions?
The way he said that. Thanks for.
Asking. For asking.
I just it's just.
Oh.
Don't you know, his elders are sitting there going. Go, Butch. Yeah.
You go Butch, man.
Oh, boy. Poor Savannah is going to get deluged here. She's got no.
More. She disappeared. No, no, no. She went to the phone.
Someone texted. Sorry. Savannah. And then texted Butch.
She loves helping the boomers.
No. She gets she has a blast with it.
By the way, if you're getting sweetheart responses to your texts, it ain't Young Thunder, it's Savannah.
It's true. It's Savannah.
I didn't know if I was going to pick up myself, but then I thought, no, I'm going to pick on Young Thunder.
You're more than allowed.
All right, we got a question for you. Ali. What is.
It?
We want to ask. Have you ever had one of those moments where somebody teed it up for you, not knowing that the question that they asked set you up perfectly to talk about your testimony, about how Jesus has changed you. Tell us, when did someone give you that kind of a set up question? And you, with a lump in your throat, maybe some excitement, you went for it. You talked about Jesus. 800 555 7898 tell us your butch story. 800 555 7898.
A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
Line them up, guys. We're going to get you in here lickety split, like we're stacking cordwood. Chuga chuga. Chuga chuga. Ali loves stacking cordwood. Help her stack some cordwood. Get your testimonies in here right now. Gonzalez wants to stack them up.
I've never stacked cordwood before, but I do like this question we're asking you about a time when someone asked you a question, having no clue that they were setting you up perfectly, to share your testimony, to share about Jesus. 800 555 7898.
Give us a call right now. We're going to get as many in as we can in the next couple of minutes. 800 555 7898. Ty called in to answer this question.
I just wanted to say that early on in my life, I was a teen mom and had kids early and later got married and my husband and I, we ended up having six kids in four years and two sets of twins. And everyone always asks me like, how did you manage to take care of these kids? I had six kids in diapers. It was like a crazy time. And my husband and I were actually going through some things and then. But my only answer to everything is
only by God. Like, I can't even go back and identify one single thing or one thing that I did on my own strength. It was never my strength. It was always God's strength that just carried me. And I look back and everyone's doing fantastic now, and we're blessed. And God just carried us. It was like an angel just carrying me through this whole time.
That's. Ty. You got six kids in diapers? Yeah. Giving glory to God when he's the one that pulled that one off? Yeah. Come on, mom, you agree with that one, don't you?
My goodness. How in the world do you do it?
I have one, and I don't get it. That doesn't make any sense to me other than the power of the Lord?
Yeah.
I mean, I got a second cousin who had twins, and then they got the news that they had another one on the way, and they had triplets and they had five under. They had five under two.
That's so crazy.
Wow.
Change. It's life changing. Experience is what they tell me.
Yeah, I could imagine it was.
Can you imagine?
Oh my goodness.
Oh my goodness. What? When? When you're teed up. How in the world do you get through this. What do you say (800) 555-7898. Philip in Illinois. We haven't heard from you in a while. Philip. Tee it up, my man. What's your answer?
Thank you for asking, y'all.
Yeah, man. How does it work for you?
You know something, man? That 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 have 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 and 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 trial, 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, 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. It's always right there.
Yeah. You know, our premise has been this morning, Philip. And hold on a second. Boom boom boom. I mean, 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 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.
It. 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.
Come on. To prepare. You can do it I gotta prepare, I gotta prepare, Philip.
I love you, Philip.
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. I mean, and that can take you down a crazy road. I mean, from persecution to Philip mentioned, you know, going blind A 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. Uh. Hold it. Is he still there?
Uh, yeah. He's holding Philip.
There. Philip, are you there? No. He's gone. Um, 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.
Mhm.
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. Ally. 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 Butch Wilmore or Philip. I don't
know if I've got the stuff or a tie. 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. Let's get some news, my man.
Hey, let's get you updated with a couple quick pieces of your headlines this morning. Greenpeace is being ordered to pay $660 million to a Texas company over its involvement
in the Dakota Pipeline protests. A jury at a civil trial in North Dakota on Wednesday decided that the environmental group is liable for defamation and for orchestrating criminal behavior at the protests held nearly ten years ago on the standing Rock reservation, Texas pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners successfully argued that Greenpeace incited people to protest by using a, quote,
misinformation campaign. Greenpeace had denied the claims. The Federal Reserve is holding interest rates steady despite some signs that the economy could be slowing. Chair Jerome Powell said the fed is focusing on achieving maximum employment and stable prices. The central bank forecasts that two rate cuts will come later this year. The decision is in line with the market expectations and is the second time the fed has paused rate cuts since January. I'm Jonathan and that is your update.
Savannah has sent out hundreds, so why not 200 more? We played Butch Wilmore. We played Butch Wilmore's testimony. CBS news asked him at a out of space presser, which is a really cool thing. Wouldn't you love to have done that when back in your network days? Ali, when you were doing weather and news and all that stuff, you go live with somebody in outer space and ask.
Them a question. So cool. That would be such.
A fun thing to get to do.
So somebody at CBS asked Butch Wilmore a question about, man, how do you basically what he was asking is, how in the world do you make it up here for 8 or 9 months when you were planning on being here eight days? And his response? Epic. You didn't hear it. You can. Savannah is here to serve you. And boy, does she text the word butch to our number. We'll get you that clip. Share it. All we ask you to do is don't just listen to it. You got to share it. That's the only caveat. You got to
pass it along. Text Butch to 800 555 7898. Ali tells me he's an elder at his church, for crying out loud. That's his real job. He's an astronaut on a side hustle.
That's so cool. It's a side hustle.
He was even checking in with the older members of the church while he was orbiting Earth.
No, he was not. Yes. Yeah.
No he.
Didn't.
We got to get Butch on here.
Forsake his duties.
And his responsibilities even while he was orbiting.
Earth.
That's awesome. He goes, hey, I'm in space right now, but I'm just checking to see how you're doing.
In.
From.
Space Elders meeting. Okay.
I would love to have I'm talking to you elders at 180. Some of you get on one of these missions. I would love to get a call of encouragement back.
From.
Jerry. Jerry. Yao. Hello, Carl. I'm in space. How are you doing?
How about doctor Coakley?
He's a good friend of ours.
Yeah.
Doctor Coakley is one of our elders.
He'd be great.
Shoot him.
Doctor Coakley.
Up.
To space. I want him on the next mission.
Okay.
They're going to do a lottery pick. We need to. We need to stuff the ballot box with Jim Coakley's name.
Could you imagine if we stuffed it with his name and he doesn't know? And we go, hey, Jim, we got a surprise for you.
He's gonna know now.
You're going to.
Space. There you go.
And, Gail, I know Gail enough to know his bride. She'd be like, yeah, you get on that jet. He get on that rocket right now. Get up on that rocket.
That's right.
Oh, too much fun, Tex. Butch. Oh, no. They're coming in like. By the.
Droves. Yeah.
Tex. Butch to 805 five. Five. 78. 98. You got a friend that listens in a different time slot here. Send it on to them as well.
You know, for me, this reminds me of a couple of 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 and he isn't saved. And 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 we're 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.
And 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 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?
Was 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 sons. I love you guys so much. So 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, all right 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 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, 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 is 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. Stay on the horn. You're getting two copies. Probably because we're sending you a Carl and crew prize pack. So stay on the horn, Anthony. And in all seriousness, thank you, soldier. Thank you for serving. And thank you for serving God first and foremost. 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, speech.
I'd like to thank my mom and my handlers. I'd like to thank. I'd like to thank Sergeant Goomba 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 with you and 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. Cause 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. Whoo! How about Anthony Ali?
I love.
That story. And when he described that, sort of like 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, I can't how can I do this? And then by the power of the Holy Spirit, you open your mouth and you give glory to God.
Sweet stuff. Give us some headlines, young thunder.
All right. Let me give you one of your top headlines for today. An executive order is expected to be signed today by President Trump aimed at eliminating the Department of Education. He's set to do so at a white House ceremony attended by multiple governors and state education commissioners. He will then direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all steps necessary to begin the closure of the Doe and return authority to individual states. That's your news. I'm Jonathan.
Something's got to give. When you've got third and fourth grade reading and arithmetic levels the way we have it with the amount of money spent per head across our nation, and I'm talking everywhere in our nation, something has to give. And it's a tough battle.
And I, I appreciate the explanation because this was something that I was initially kind of uninformed on, but I heard the explanation of, you know, people out in the country don't necessarily need the same rules and guidelines as people in the city, and it shouldn't be universalized for people who have so many different experiences across this country. And so. So let's let it go back to the states and let them decide what's best for their kids.
Yeah, and I'm not sure we live in a state that's going to figure that one out, right?
No. But us specifically, we do not.
Uh, $0.46 of every dollar that goes into elementary and secondary education goes to administrative costs. And so if we could just get 10 or 15 more cents of that going directly to the students, it might help with reading and arithmetic and writing. It just might. Yeah, it just might.
So we pray.
Yeah. We do. Okay. Uh, have you ever wondered what is God really doing in the 1040 window? That stretch of swath around the Earth that is really paying a price for those who would claim the name of Jesus. We've all wondered that. We've talked a lot about it. We've had. Oh, goodness sakes, voice of the martyrs on here. We get some some insight as to what's going on, but have we got a treat coming up for all of us? Right, Ali?
Yes.
The Billy Graham of Iran, that's what he's been called. You're going to meet him coming up.
She's a choreographer extraordinaire. And everything is Greek to her. Super die is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
So I got my wife running some Intel for us. Ali.
You do?
Yeah. 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 Harmon 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? Chariot. What's God doing in Iran?
I hope your audience are ready to be shocked, because what you 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, may 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, oh, 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. Hormoz Shariat 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 the 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 and 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 every 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 Angelical 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 it. 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.
Wow.
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 Ramos Shariat with us right now, founder and president of Iran Alive Ministries. He talked about the use of media. Now, 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 staff, 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. Now, 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 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 a 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 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 anymore 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?
Risk. 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 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
long jail. Just a couple of 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, I 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 why 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 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 to 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 on 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 are 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 805 557898.
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?
Yes, I will do that. But that Iran that Hamas faces. Mohabbat KE Dastak. Tehran. Iran. Iran. Saudi Arabia, Iran. Iran. Nur Jahan der nomi ci masih Amin.
Amen. Wow! Text alive to 805 five five 7898. Just that one word alive to 805 five five 7898. And let's be in prayer for our brothers and sisters and those to be in Iran.