: Welcome to Real Truth for Today with Pastor Jeff Schrieve, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. Now, here's Pastor Jeff.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, good morning and welcome to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here. Hope that you had a, ah, wonderful weekend. Psalm 92. It says this. It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name, O most high, to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night. Those two things about God, his loving kindness and his faithfulness. You know, when the Lord returns. Revelation, chapter 19. such a great passage of Scripture, and it says, and I saw heaven open. This is at the battle of Armageddon. And it looks like it's curtains for the people of God that the devil and his Antichrist are going to win. And, God's people are surrounded. But here comes the wonderful name of God, Jehovah, Nicotaim. And in the 11th hour, he comes, and Jon says, and I saw heaven open. And behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and wages war. God is faithful. God is true. And God loves you. And he loves me. And regardless of what might be going on in your life today, you can declare the truth that God really does love you. God demonstrates his own love to Romans. Chapter 5 says in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. he who did not spare his own son, Romans 8:32, but delivered him up for us all. How will he not also, with him freely give us all things? Well, it's been interesting, if you follow on the X platform, Jenna Ellis has become a wonderful friend. And so I've been following, some of the things that she's gotten herself into with the Calvinism debate. And it, was Dinesh d' Souza that made a comment about Calvinism. And the Calvinists don't like you to do that. and so it got, a little heated, a little, ugly, at times. And anyway, Jenna was weighing in, and she Just, made the statement, you know, can we not just disagree without getting, you know, ugly and personal and acting like the other side is an idiot? Because, if you don't believe in Calvinism, well, you just don't understand. I'm, not a Calvinist. I believe you have parts of the tulip. the tulip is the big. That's the five point Calvinism. T stands for total depravity. Not total inability. Total depravity, which means you can't save yourself. You're a sinner before God. you can't come to God on your own. And there's nothing that you can do to commend yourself to God because you're totally depraved. Now, you're dead in sin. But as my friend David Allen likes to say, being dead, I'm dead as a Christian, dead to sin, but I sure can still sin. that's not the inability. So total depravity is not total inability. And being dead in sin, doesn't mean that I can't respond when God convicts my heart. And respond to him. I cry out to him if I'm drowning, in sin, as that song says. I was sinking deep in sin. Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more. But the master of the sea heard my despairing cry and from the waters lifted me. Now safe am I. I think of blind Bartimaeus, who just cried out with a loud voice. And he continued to do it. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And the Lord stopped. He stopped for a poor blind beggar. He'll stop for you. Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. And so the God who, stopped for Bartimaeus will stop for you and me. He responds when we cry out to him in repentance and faith. Now that is not any kind of work on my part. If I'm drowning in a sea and I yell out save me, I didn't do anything for the rescuer to save me. I just let it be known that I was there and I wanted to be saved. And so the Lord does this saving. So when you think of tulip, total depravity, but it doesn't mean total inability. It definitely means you can't save yourself. You, is unconditional election, which means you didn't do anything. God doesn't save you because of something in you. and you don't do anything to get your salvation. It is totally unconditional. Well, I think there is a condition, and that condition is you have to, call upon him. he was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him, but as many as received him. To them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. So T U L L is the big one, even for Calvinists. L is limited atonement. Limited atonement means Jesus did not die for everyone. He only died for the elect. And, you know, you have to move heaven and earth with scripture to say that Jesus didn't die for everybody, he did die for everybody. Now it's not a pardon that is going to be, put on the account of every single person. I'm not a universalist by any stretch of the imagination. And those who are non Calvinists that I know are not universal. but we would say that the cross was not just for, the elect, it was for everyone. And we get that from 1 Jon, chapter two. Now, little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever out of the world would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. So I don't believe in you unconditional election. I don't believe in el Limited atonement. I don't believe in I of Tulip irresistible grace. when God courts you, so to speak, to use those terms that you can't resist, I mean, God is just choosing you and you're going to, respond because his grace is irresistible. now my problem with that is, in Acts chapter seven where Steven is preaching his sermon and he calls out the religious, leaders, and he said, you men who are stiff necked and always resist resisting the Holy Spirit, they were resisting, irresistible grace. Jesus wanted to save the rich young ruler, but he went away sad. He was one who owned much property and Jesus had told him to sell all you have, give it to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven and come follow me. But he didn't want to do that. And so he walked away sad. And Jesus let him walk away. The Lord is not going to just drag you to Himself. And so, irresistible grace. Acts 7:51. You men who are stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears and always resisting the Holy Spirit. So I think you can resist, I think you can say no. And then p. The pea in tulip is perseverance of the saints. And I agree with that, although I don't like that terminology. It's really the perseverance of the Savior, which means that he'll never let you go. Jesus said in Jon 10:27, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me, and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish. And, no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who is greater than all, has given them to me. And no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one. And so when you give your life to Christ and you repent and believe, he puts you in his hand. And Jesus said, no one's able to snatch you out of my hand. And if that's not good enough for you, my Father, who's greater than all, he puts his hand over my hand. And no one is able to snatch you out of my Father's hand. You and I, as believers in Jesus, if you really truly believed in Jesus and put your faith and trust in him, you are saved and saved forever. And so the P would be something I would believe in. I agree with Dr. Paige Patterson, who calls himself one, and a half point Calvinist because he doesn't believe in the total, depravity the way the five point Calvinist does. He doesn't believe that, you are totally unable to respond. he does believe that you are a total sinner before God and your righteous deeds are as a filthy rag as it Sundays in Isaiah 64. And there's nothing that you can do to save yourself. And so the Lord has to do the work. Jesus said, no man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. God has to draw, because you and I, no man seeks after God in and of himself. It's just not going to happen. So all that to say, God does love us. And as Psalm 92, it is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name, O Most High, to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night. You know, I preached, yesterday. We're going through the Book of Numbers at First Baptist Texarkana, not verse by verse. If you've ever read Numbers. You know that numbers has a lot of names and things like that. And they're numbering the people in the Book of Numbers. But it has some great, great Old Testament stories, exciting things. And one of the big things that it has is it tells us why Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Why they didn't go into the Promised Land. So some people don't understand. Well, I don't get it. Why God took them out of Egypt. So that they'd wander around in the wilderness for 40 years. Well, God didn't. He took them out of Egypt. And here was God's desire. We come out of Egypt, we destroy Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. Greatest Old Testament miracle. everybody was talking about that one. Because Pharaoh and his army, the most powerful nation on the world at that time, and then takes them to Mount Sinai, Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, as the Bible says. And, they get the Ten Commandments and they get the law. And they're there about a year. And then they go up to Kadesh Barnea, which is north. And then they camp there to go in to spy out the land. To take the land. But they don't take the land. And the reason they don't take the land is because they don't believe God. God promised them the land. That's why it's called the Promised Land. A land flowing with milk and honey. A great land. But they don't do it because they don't believe God. And God gets very angry at them. And he says, okay, you don't believe me that I can give you this land. All you see are giants. Well, here's the deal. For every day that you've spied out the land, 40 days you're going to spend a year wandering in the wilderness. And remember, the wilderness is not, Sherwood Forrest. Robin Hood and his men are there. It's not a lush green place. It's sand and rocks. It's desert. It's awful, the wilderness. And they were there for 40 years until all those people died out. All those numbered people from 20 years old and upward who said we're not going to be able to make it. I wish we had died in the wilderness. Why is God taking us into this land? So we would die in this, land flowing with milk and honey. we should go back to Egypt. That was their. And their moaning and groaning and whining and crying and, just no faith at all. Even though Joshua and Caleb, two of the 12 spies, said, Listen, we need to go get the land because the land is good, because God is faithful to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night. The God who can't lie promised us that land. We have to go get it. It's not a vacant piece of property. But God is going to give us the victory. And I don't care how tall those people are over there, I don't care how fortified the cities are over there. They're nothing compared to our, God. And yet the people didn't do it. So the Lord said, okay, here's the deal. You're going to die in the wilderness and, you're going to wander around for 40 years and, you talk about funerals. They would have, the deaths would be about 1300amonth to wipe out all those people over that time frame. And so every time you turn around, another person was dying, another person was dying, another person was dying. And God was teaching his people in very concrete terms. Sin brings death. Unbelief is a terrible, horrible sin, and it brings death. And, you know, if you boil the Bible down to two words, just two words, these would be the words, trust me. God says, trust me, you and I can trust him because he loves us, because he is faithful and true and righteous in all his ways. Well, you're listening to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here on American Folks Family Radio. We're up against a break, but we'll be right back. Don't go away.
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: This is real truth for today. Podcasts of the program are available on the podcast [email protected] now back to Pastor Jeff, Sri Lanka.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program. Pastor Jeff here, you heard from, Walker Wildmon. He was talking about the midterm elections, and those are very important. Now, you may have seen last night, Trey Gowdy sat down with President Trump, and one of the biggest issues, obviously, in this, upcoming election, the midterms, has to do with inflation, has to do with gas prices, and, gas prices are tied to the war in Iran. And so Trey Gowdy asked President Trump, okay, how do you present this and, make the case that this was a good war to get into? And I think it's important that we hear his answer right.
Speaker E: Speaking of the people you surround yourself with, I want you to imagine you're the lead prosecutor, but you've got Marco Rubio and Jon Ratcliffe sitting at the council table with you, and you are addressing a jury of undecided midterm votes, and their question is, convince us on the issue of Iran, how it is in our best interest. If you were the prosecutor in that case, what would you tell them?
Donald Trump: It's a very easy question. Iran is a number one leading state sponsor of terror. You've heard that many times in the whole world. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. I have numerous people said, well, did you have to do it? And then I say, do you think it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon? Nuclear weapon is massive destruction. You know, take what you see and multiply times 100. And everybody says no. I've had people on the other side asking me or debating me. Let's say on that question, most people are absolutely fine with it. They were fine with Venezuela. They were all against Venezuela when I did it. And now look how that's turned out so great. But they were against this, too. And all I say is, is okay for. Is it okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon? I've never had anyone say yes. And as soon as they say no, it's not okay, I said, well, then I'm right. But we're doing a great job. The blockade has been unbelievable. The financial, the financial hits that we're giving them, we're hitting them very hard. Never. Nobody's ever been hit like this. And they're a failing nation right now. And at the right point, we'll either win or they'll do something. But, you know, I don't mind winning, just winning that. I don't need a signature on a piece of paper, but we're doing very well. Their Navy's gone, their air force is gone. Their leaders are gone. They're all of their anti aircraft, I mean, so wiped out. They're tough people, they're smart people, but, they're very evil. They killed 52,000 protesters as of three months ago. And sadly, they've added very substantially to that list. Even people that aren't protesting, they go into the houses and they take them and they shoot them.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, that's, Donald Trump talking about why, it was right for us to attack Iran and to, take them out. Hopefully that's the goal. Take out that evil regime and the things that they do, just so terrible. And my prayer has been that righteousness would prevail and wickedness would, would fail in that, altercation. But that's why you have, Persians, Iranians that say, we want this. And even to the point of if there is collateral damage, we're okay with that because this regime is so oppressive and so evil and so, awful that we need to take whatever measures possible to, break the back of this evil regime. You know, it's amazing to me that, we don't learn from what's just happening in our lifetimes. 1979, you've heard me say this before, but it bears repeating. 1979, you had the Marxists team up with the Islamist to overthrow the Shah of Iran. And so then when they overthrew him, they took power. And the Islamists immediately, I say immediately. Very soon afterward, they had the upper hand. You know, politics makes strange bedfellows. And the enemy of my enemy is my friend until you get rid of the enemy. And then you realize, I hate this guy I've teamed up with. Well, the Muslims hate the Marxists and the progressives. And the progressives, hate the Muslims, but the Muslims are much more committed to the cause. And so they executed the Marxists and then they took control, complete control. And, then everything became oppressive. Well, that same scenario, is playing out in America as the Democratic Party has embraced Islam. I read today where California is wanting to pass a law to designate two Islamic holy days as state holidays. In California, just to show the Muslims, hey, we're all for you. I saw Kathi Hochul, dressed up in garb, the Muslim m. Garb, to show her support of Muslims. it's just, it's unbelievable. You are playing with a poisonous snake that will turn around and bite you. I read this morning about a pastor in Indonesia, Didi Saputra, if I'm saying his name right, he was a Muslim and he came to faith in Christ. And now he's a pastor in Indonesia. Well, he was sentenced to just this last few days, sentenced to two years in prison because he violated the blasphemy and hate speech laws of the area. And, the prosecutors wanted four years. This is what he said that made them so mad. Muhammad, before becoming a prophet, had only one wife, but when he became a prophet, he had dozens. Now, that is factually incorrect because most will say he had 11, to 13, depending on how you view it. They probably had concubines in there. but as far as wives go, dozens is not correct. He could have said a dozen, and that would have been, ballpark, factually correct. But you get the point of his statement. And, you know, you ask, you ask AI, and AI is, in my opinion, AI is so liberal, every answer is going to be like you're talking to Raechel Maddow on cnn. But, AI was like, well, what he said was factually incorrect. I said, well, do you think he should go to prison for that? Well, no, he shouldn't go to prison for that. But it was factually incorrect. I said, how about you take dozens and change it to the word dozen? Well, then that would be more factually correct. he gets prison time for that. You can't speak anything against Muhammad under Sharia law, or you get put to prison or you get put to death. severe. when I was talking to my friend Dr. Dean and he was sharing with the church about Islam, he said, you can have somebody who is very, moderate as a Muslim. I mean, doesn't go to the mosque, doesn't really, hold to reading the Quran or any of that stuff. But said two things can make a very moderate, seemingly uninterested Muslim, a radical. Very quickly, you speak out against Muhammad or you speak out against the Quran. And those two things cause a person that's hitting on the hot button for a Muslim, even the most, uninterested of Muslims. And so you're going to go to jail or you're going to be put to death. You start speaking out against Islam. Listen, that is coming to a theater near you. As I like to say, if we keep going in this direction, you know, Jesus said In Jon chapter 16, interesting passage of scripture, he said, these things, I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue. But an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they Will do. Because they have not known the Father or me. Now we saw that in the Apostle Paul. He is breathing out threats and murders against the disciples of the Lord. And he was the one that was arresting people and sending them to prison. And you know, when Herod put Acts chapter 12, when he put James to death, he was cheered for it. And they said, that's good. And so, you have people in the name of religion that are wanting to go after Christians, because it's all satanically inspired, demonically inspired. You have God and you have the truth of God and then you have everything else. All the false cults, all the false religions, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, whatever it is, it's all from the devil because he is a liar and the father of lies. Now I saw also ran across this weekend a, post by Ken Ham. Ken Ham's been a guest on the program before. He has the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. I love Ken Ham. I love the way he stands up for truth, stands up for the book of Genesis. He said Genesis chapters 1:11 answers all the questions that we're dealing with today. And he doesn't back down for a nanosecond that he believes on what he believes regarding the fact that God created this world in six 24 hour days. The world is not billions and billions of years old. The world is relatively young based on the ages given in the Bible for the people that God created. When did God create the first two people? They were created on day six, Adam and Eve. And so you look at their lifespans and the years that are given there in the book of Genesis and you find out that the world is not billions of years old. And we have people. And Ken Ham's called out people like William Laine Craig, who just capitulates to the conventional wisdom, the science of the day that says, well, obviously the world is very, very old. And so they just go along with it. And Ken Ham says, I'm not going along with that. Let God be found. True though, every man be found a liar. I'm going to believe the word of God. So I love him for that. Well, he got a lot of heat for saying some things about, Dolly Parton. You know, I talked about Dolly Parton last week and I said, hey, I hope Dolly Parton is in heaven. I want everybody to go to heaven. I'm not wishing for anybody to, to be, to perish and to spend eternity in hell. But these people that just wrote all these Glowing things about Dolly Parton and being welcomed into heaven and well done, my good and faithful servant. That kind of attitude, there's nothing in her life that would indicate that. And so we're not the judge, God is the judge. But we can tell you what the judge said. And you know, we need to be careful with those that we preach into heaven, so to speak. And we, after they die, say, oh, they were just such a wonderful person. I, think most people think Dolly Parton is in heaven because she was a wonderful person and she was so nice and she was so good. And of course you're going to heaven if you're nice and good. Well, there's none righteous, not even one. And Nicodemus was the most righteous man, most moral man, most morally upstanding man on the planet. We could say in Jon 3, and he's the teacher of Israel, he had the respect of the whole nation. And Jesus said, unless you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. You can't enter the kingdom of God. See the kingdom of God. Marvel not that I say to you, you must be born again. Now I believe that, scripture alludes to the fact that Nicodemus did put his faith and trust in Jesus, but he didn't in Jon chapter three. And you, know, if the most moral religious man on the planet at that time needs to be born again, guess what? So do you. So do I. So does Dolly Parton. Now Dolly Parton shared a little bit of a, ah, testimony, if we could call it that, where she said that her grandfather was a preacher, Pentecostal hellfire and brimstone. And she supposedly got saved all these different times, but it was all out of fear and it wasn't, I don't think she really understood. I've never heard her really use the name Jesus in talking about this, but she said that she had an experience with the Lord in a rundown church. it was just her and the Lord, but it is still kind of vague and fuzzy. So it's one of those things that you're like, I don't know if she is or if she's not. I want her to be in heaven. Hey, I don't know about my own dad. I was able to share with him before he passed away. And I hope that he told me he trusted Christ, but you know, it's kind of hard to see in an 80 something year old person a big life change. And, and I hope that's true, but I don't know for sure. And so, you know, we just say, as Paul said to Timothy, the Lord knows those who are his. And so poor Cain, Ham was getting hammered because people say, how dare you? You're not her judge. Obviously, he's not the judge, but, we have to be careful. Peter said, make sure that your calling and election, is legit. 2 Peter 1:10. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. For as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. He's talking about all the things that we, apply and add to our faith. Moral excellence, knowledge, self control, perseverance, Godliness, brotherly kindness and love. And so, people that, are walking with the Lord, they have confidence and, they can't wait for the Lord to return. And they're ready to go whenever the Lord would call them. People that aren't walking with the Lord now, little children abide in him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink back in shame at his coming. If you claim to be a Christian and you're not walking in his ways, you're going to have a big question mark over your eternity. You're not going to know for sure about that. but when you walk with the Lord, you walk in the light as He Himself is in the light. You have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses you from all sin. Well, you're listening to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here. When we come back from the break, we'll be taking your calls. 888-589-8840. That's 888-589-8840. If you have a question or a comment or something, that we haven't talked about today, but you say, hey, I'd like to talk about X. I'd be more than willing to talk to you about it. I do want to give a big shout out. I don't know how many of you watched the golf tournament yesterday, the FedEx cup championship, but big shout out to Scotty Scheffler for winning that. The payday on it was huge. 10 million for the winner. And, that guy is just amazing. And Scotty professes, unashamedly his faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I have a good clip from him when we come back from the break. Don't go away.
: If you'd like to contact Pastor Jeff, email Pastor Jeff at. Ah, from his heart. Now back to Real Truth for Today with Pastor Jeff Schrieve.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program. Pastor Jeff here. We're taking your calls. 888-589-8840. That's 885-89840. If you have a question or a comment, I'd love to hear from you. I did say, just at the close of the last segment, Scotty Scheffler, he was, being interviewed for the big victory yesterday, and I, love what he had to say about his. His family, his dad, and how they love him. Let me play this clip.
Speaker G: I just feel like we have a really close family, and I feel like it starts with my parents. You know, I have parents that, you know, my dad would lay in front of traffic for me if it meant that I wouldn't get a scratch on my elbow. And, you know, I feel like no matter how I play on the golf course, I'm always coming home to people that love me. You know, my wife first and foremost when it comes to that, but my parents as well. I felt like, growing up in golf, your parents want what's best for you and obviously want you to succeed and achieve your dreams. And I felt that for my parents. But I also felt that it was okay if I didn't make it out here, if I didn't win today, or if I never made it to the PGA Tour. That was okay for all of us. You know, my parents wanted me to chase after my dreams, and I'm just glad to have their support.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yeah, Scotty's amazing. Obviously, the best player in the world. He proved it again yesterday. And, what a year that guy's had. And a great ambassador, for Jesus. He's very real, very down to earth. He doesn't put on airs, from my perspective. And I, appreciate the fact that, as he says with pro golfers, it's not like another sport. You're out there in front of the cameras for hours. you're walking the course, and he said, there are cameras in your face constantly. You know, whatever happens is going to be picked up. You know, every, every stumble, anything that you do, you scratch yourself wrong, they're going to have it on camera. That would be hard to get used to that. And, golf is a hard game anyway, but to have that, broadcast on national and international television every time you turn around, that would be very, very difficult. So hats off to all those guys that do that. but special shout out to Scotty Scheffler for his victory. Well, we're going to the phone lines. 888-589-8840. And we have Paula on the line from Oklahoma. Paula, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Hey, Pastor Jeff. I know nobody's really spoken on this about Dolly, Parton and her dress, the way she, you know, reveals herself constantly. And I just. First Corinthians 6, you know, I was delivered out homosexuality and born again. And you become a new creature in Christ. And there's scripture in there that says it's worse to have a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of my low ones to stumble. And so I just think that if we are true followers of Christ, we don't want to say or do anything that would cost somebody else to stumble. And I just feel like she. She put it all out there. You know, that's just the way I. I'm not judging whether she's in heaven or hell. That's not like you said. I hope she is. But it just, I mean, I m just wish women would, you know, understand what men have to go through. You know, they just. Well, it's my choice to wear what I want. Even at churches, you know, there's just, it's. I'm not saying you got to be approved, but my goodness, right. I wish that older women would, you know, and if you say one thing to younger women, I was in a church, Baptist church, a couple of weeks ago, and there was a young girl in there, and she was dressed so provocative. And I know that wasn't hooked up first time at church. She's not a believer. They should still say, look, sweetie pie, you need to put a few little bit more clothes on, you know, work on this.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes, good point, Paula. Yeah. You know, as it, as it relates to, to a changed life. So, you know, several have brought that up. Said, you know, Dolly doesn't. This was from protestia and they played a game clip from Dolly. They just said Dolly Parton doesn't talk about her faith like someone who has been a Christian for 50 years. Instead, she talks about God a fair amount, but never Jesus or any other allusions to the gospel. And she talks about it in a way someone does when they haven't been attending church for 50 years. it's just, you know, it's a very distant thing that they're talking about. rather than, you know, it's easy to say the Lord is the Savior, but can you say the Lord is my savior? And it's personal. And so who knows on that thing As I agree with you, we want her to be in heaven, but the Lord knows those who are his. And I don't find any statement that she said, publicly that would make me think, yes, she had understood who Jesus was. She understood the exclusion, exclusivity of the gospel. She put her faith and trust in Jesus and Jesus alone for salvation. If she did, she didn't communicate that very well at all. And so it doesn't give us anything to go by. But, as far as the modesty goes, Paula, you're exactly right. And, women need to be careful with that. And, I used to say, hey, if you're not for sale, don't advertise. And, carry yourself in a way that would be honoring to the Lord. Men too. don't wear clothes that would be causing, people to look at you in a certain way, in a lustful way. I remember Joe Rogan looked at a picture of Carl Lentz. Carl Lentz, who was the disgraced pastor at that time. He wasn't. He was Justin Bieber's pastor at Hillsong in NewSong York. And he would wear his pants so low. And, Joe Rogan, not a believer, looked at that and said, that guy is looking to have an affair. you call that guy a pastor? No, way. And, from an unbelieving standpoint, they look at that and say, this is wrong. So, I appreciate the call and I appreciate the comments. Thanks, Paula. We have David on the line from Virginia. David, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Thank you. Good morning, sir.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Good morning.
Caroline: Ultimately. Ultimately, I have a favor to ask. Okay, so Saturday, I had lunch with a friend who I've known for approximately 36 years. And I believe that God used him 36 years ago to hire me at a position. and it's been just, you know, it's been a big part of my life. It's. It's, It was a bunch of years that I've. I've worked with these people, and it's just, you know, I believe it's a big part of where I'm at now and all that. Well, so we had lunch, and I was. I had the hopes to talk to him about certain specific things about the Lord, and I. I did, but I'm just terrible at it. I'm, I, wish that I could do it over, and I don't think I did a good enough job. So, I prayed about it before I met, before we had lunch, and then I prayed about afterwards, and then today I was, on my way to work and I'm listening to David Jeremiah and he is talking exactly. I wish I could have, you know, said exactly what David Jeremiah was saying. And then you, with your, your beginning part of your, your show today, you are now hitting on the same exact things I wish I could, I could have said to him. So I, my plan is to, to get the David Jeremiah and your, you know, today's broadcast and I'm gonna text them to him and beg him to listen to him. But the savor is he's going to hear this and I really wish you would pray for him because only God knows where people are and you know, with their salvation. And I really, I really want my friend Jim to understand what I was trying to say Saturday.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yeah, well, David, don't beat yourself up on that because, you know, the Lord, The Lord uses our faithfulness. Even if we're not very. Feel like we did a very good job. Preachers feel like that a lot where it's like, I don't think I did very well today. But you never know how the Lord will take it and use it. That's why it's important to memorize scripture, to be able to share scripture. Because Isaiah 55 says that God's word does not return, void. And so as we plant a verse of scripture in somebody's mind and heart, God can use that later on down the road. And we don't know how they, you know, we look at the person as we're talking to them and say, this is not making any headway, but you don't know, what's going on in their heart. They may not tell you that. And so we just, we just have to pray that in. And water that in and say God, take the seed that was sown and use it in their lives. But we can definitely pray for Jim. David and I, would just be careful. Here would be my caution for you. if you don't sense he's very open, don't keep pushing it on him because that causes somebody to just really back off and then they don't want to be around you. So look for when the opportunity is there, when you sense that there's a little bit of an open door, then you can ask. But if you try and break open the door, he's not going to be receptive. You know, it's kind of like, taking a piece of fruit that's not ripe and you're trying to pull it off the tree, it doesn't want to come off because it's not anywhere near ready to go. When it's ripe, you just have to give it a gentle tug and it comes off. And so we don't want to be, trying to jerk fruit off the tree when it's not ready. And the Lord has to work that into, Jim's heart. And I, appreciate the fact that you have a heart and desire to see him saved, but you just have to be sensitive to that. That's why we talk about shine and share. once you share with someone and let, them know you've been saved and this is what Jesus has done in your life. And you want them to experience what you've experienced. And if there's not an openness to that, then you just shine from that moment on. You don't keep, you don't keep sharing. You just start, hey, I'm going to just show you. And, you're going to see the difference in my life. And the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Jesus then is, allowed to take effect as that person sees that the Lord really has made a difference in your life. And then that person will start to ask some questions. So I appreciate, David, you being so honest and so let's pray for Jim right now. Father in heaven, we just lift up Jim M to you. I thank you for David and the heart that he has for his friend Jim and just ask you to open his blind eyes to truth, soften his heart. And, Lord, that there would be an opportunity, for him to talk to Jim again. And whether that's using David, Jeremiah or what I said today on the program, whatever, you want to use, Lord, I pray that he would have ears to hear and he would respond to you. Thank you that you love him. Thank you that you died for him on the cross, rose again from the dead, that you want to have a personal relationship with, with him. And Lord, help him to hear your voice so that he can respond to you. In Jesus name, amen. Well, God bless you, brother. Thank you for the call. We have Joe on the line from North Carolina. Joe, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Well, it's North Carolina where I reside, but right now I'm walking in streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, getting my early power walk in. All right, Before I continue my mission, my mission here we had a, we had a 1975, I'll give away my age Bayview High school school, Milwaukee, Wisconsin reunion. And I brought along proclaiming the gospel.org literature with me. Why? Because the majority of folks are Catholics, but they are completely fallen off the planet Catholics. They, they don't have a faith. So I passed, the literature out to them, planned to see, talked to him a little bit. And the whole time, every single one of them paid. Eye contact. I don't run into that in North Carolina sometimes, but. And they're nodding their heads, they're saying, wow, I had no idea what was. Where I'm going. I don't. Heaven, Hell. Yeah, yeah, I think about it. Well, here, this will help you solve
Caroline: it
Caroline: at the follow steps in there. And we all know what it's on afr, so I don't know. I'm not going to rehash it with the art. Right. They got a couple good, clear understanding. The seed is planted here in Milwaukee, at least. My basic Bayview High School grads and some local relatives that are here because I'm originally here. I lived here, of course. And, my estranged sister not only listened to me. Great eye contact. She took extra for others that she knows in the same boat as hers. So, yeah, I'm just asking you all like my congregation did back in North Carolina yesterday morning. Masking all, everybody, AFR listener, pray that the seeds that I planted mature.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes, Amen to that, Joe. And God bless you for doing that. And, you know, here's the thing that we fail to realize so much of the time as Christians, we have what everybody needs. we have a personal relationship with Jesus. They may not know they need that, but they desperately need that. And, we can share with them as we, as we lovingly share and speak the truth in love and ask them about their lives, ask them about their eternity. you may get a harsh response. You may get shut down. That's okay. You just move on to the next person. I used to say this. It's like you're on the street corner, you're handing out, a million dollars in cash. Who wants to receive this? If somebody doesn't, well, that's on them. I just go on to the next person. And we have something that is so much greater, to share with people than a million dollars. We have, the word of eternal life. We have God's own son, who wants us to tell everybody. Go tell it on the mountains, over the hills and everywhere that Jesus Christ is born, that Jesus Christ died for sinners and that he rose again from the dead, and that he offers eternal life to any and all who will repent. Turn from sin and turn to Jesus in surrender. And the moment that you do that, as the song says, if you take one step toward the Savior, my friend, you'll find his arms open wide. there's pardon for you. There's a new life in Jesus. He wants to change us. He came that we might have life and might have it abundantly. Well, thank you for listening to Real Truth for today. It's a joy to get to speak with you. Look forward to being with you again tomorrow. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here. Go out today. Shine for Christ and share what great things the Lord has done for you, and God will use you as his witness. God bless you.
: Welcome to Real Truth for Today with Pastor Jeff Schrieve, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. Now, here's Pastor Jeff.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, good morning and welcome to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here. Hope that you had a, ah, wonderful weekend. Psalm 92. It says this. It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name, O most high, to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night. Those two things about God, his loving kindness and his faithfulness. You know, when the Lord returns. Revelation, chapter 19. such a great passage of Scripture, and it says, and I saw heaven open. This is at the battle of Armageddon. And it looks like it's curtains for the people of God that the devil and his Antichrist are going to win. And, God's people are surrounded. But here comes the wonderful name of God, Jehovah, Nicotaim. And in the 11th hour, he comes, and Jon says, and I saw heaven open. And behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and wages war. God is faithful. God is true. And God loves you. And he loves me. And regardless of what might be going on in your life today, you can declare the truth that God really does love you. God demonstrates his own love to Romans. Chapter 5 says in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. he who did not spare his own son, Romans 8:32, but delivered him up for us all. How will he not also, with him freely give us all things? Well, it's been interesting, if you follow on the X platform, Jenna Ellis has become a wonderful friend. And so I've been following, some of the things that she's gotten herself into with the Calvinism debate. And it, was Dinesh d' Souza that made a comment about Calvinism. And the Calvinists don't like you to do that. and so it got, a little heated, a little, ugly, at times. And anyway, Jenna was weighing in, and she Just, made the statement, you know, can we not just disagree without getting, you know, ugly and personal and acting like the other side is an idiot? Because, if you don't believe in Calvinism, well, you just don't understand. I'm, not a Calvinist. I believe you have parts of the tulip. the tulip is the big. That's the five point Calvinism. T stands for total depravity. Not total inability. Total depravity, which means you can't save yourself. You're a sinner before God. you can't come to God on your own. And there's nothing that you can do to commend yourself to God because you're totally depraved. Now, you're dead in sin. But as my friend David Allen likes to say, being dead, I'm dead as a Christian, dead to sin, but I sure can still sin. that's not the inability. So total depravity is not total inability. And being dead in sin, doesn't mean that I can't respond when God convicts my heart. And respond to him. I cry out to him if I'm drowning, in sin, as that song says. I was sinking deep in sin. Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more. But the master of the sea heard my despairing cry and from the waters lifted me. Now safe am I. I think of blind Bartimaeus, who just cried out with a loud voice. And he continued to do it. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And the Lord stopped. He stopped for a poor blind beggar. He'll stop for you. Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. And so the God who, stopped for Bartimaeus will stop for you and me. He responds when we cry out to him in repentance and faith. Now that is not any kind of work on my part. If I'm drowning in a sea and I yell out save me, I didn't do anything for the rescuer to save me. I just let it be known that I was there and I wanted to be saved. And so the Lord does this saving. So when you think of tulip, total depravity, but it doesn't mean total inability. It definitely means you can't save yourself. You, is unconditional election, which means you didn't do anything. God doesn't save you because of something in you. and you don't do anything to get your salvation. It is totally unconditional. Well, I think there is a condition, and that condition is you have to, call upon him. he was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him, but as many as received him. To them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. So T U L L is the big one, even for Calvinists. L is limited atonement. Limited atonement means Jesus did not die for everyone. He only died for the elect. And, you know, you have to move heaven and earth with scripture to say that Jesus didn't die for everybody, he did die for everybody. Now it's not a pardon that is going to be, put on the account of every single person. I'm not a universalist by any stretch of the imagination. And those who are non Calvinists that I know are not universal. but we would say that the cross was not just for, the elect, it was for everyone. And we get that from 1 Jon, chapter two. Now, little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever out of the world would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. So I don't believe in you unconditional election. I don't believe in el Limited atonement. I don't believe in I of Tulip irresistible grace. when God courts you, so to speak, to use those terms that you can't resist, I mean, God is just choosing you and you're going to, respond because his grace is irresistible. now my problem with that is, in Acts chapter seven where Steven is preaching his sermon and he calls out the religious, leaders, and he said, you men who are stiff necked and always resist resisting the Holy Spirit, they were resisting, irresistible grace. Jesus wanted to save the rich young ruler, but he went away sad. He was one who owned much property and Jesus had told him to sell all you have, give it to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven and come follow me. But he didn't want to do that. And so he walked away sad. And Jesus let him walk away. The Lord is not going to just drag you to Himself. And so, irresistible grace. Acts 7:51. You men who are stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears and always resisting the Holy Spirit. So I think you can resist, I think you can say no. And then p. The pea in tulip is perseverance of the saints. And I agree with that, although I don't like that terminology. It's really the perseverance of the Savior, which means that he'll never let you go. Jesus said in Jon 10:27, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me, and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish. And, no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who is greater than all, has given them to me. And no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one. And so when you give your life to Christ and you repent and believe, he puts you in his hand. And Jesus said, no one's able to snatch you out of my hand. And if that's not good enough for you, my Father, who's greater than all, he puts his hand over my hand. And no one is able to snatch you out of my Father's hand. You and I, as believers in Jesus, if you really truly believed in Jesus and put your faith and trust in him, you are saved and saved forever. And so the P would be something I would believe in. I agree with Dr. Paige Patterson, who calls himself one, and a half point Calvinist because he doesn't believe in the total, depravity the way the five point Calvinist does. He doesn't believe that, you are totally unable to respond. he does believe that you are a total sinner before God and your righteous deeds are as a filthy rag as it Sundays in Isaiah 64. And there's nothing that you can do to save yourself. And so the Lord has to do the work. Jesus said, no man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. God has to draw, because you and I, no man seeks after God in and of himself. It's just not going to happen. So all that to say, God does love us. And as Psalm 92, it is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name, O Most High, to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night. You know, I preached, yesterday. We're going through the Book of Numbers at First Baptist Texarkana, not verse by verse. If you've ever read Numbers. You know that numbers has a lot of names and things like that. And they're numbering the people in the Book of Numbers. But it has some great, great Old Testament stories, exciting things. And one of the big things that it has is it tells us why Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Why they didn't go into the Promised Land. So some people don't understand. Well, I don't get it. Why God took them out of Egypt. So that they'd wander around in the wilderness for 40 years. Well, God didn't. He took them out of Egypt. And here was God's desire. We come out of Egypt, we destroy Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. Greatest Old Testament miracle. everybody was talking about that one. Because Pharaoh and his army, the most powerful nation on the world at that time, and then takes them to Mount Sinai, Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, as the Bible says. And, they get the Ten Commandments and they get the law. And they're there about a year. And then they go up to Kadesh Barnea, which is north. And then they camp there to go in to spy out the land. To take the land. But they don't take the land. And the reason they don't take the land is because they don't believe God. God promised them the land. That's why it's called the Promised Land. A land flowing with milk and honey. A great land. But they don't do it because they don't believe God. And God gets very angry at them. And he says, okay, you don't believe me that I can give you this land. All you see are giants. Well, here's the deal. For every day that you've spied out the land, 40 days you're going to spend a year wandering in the wilderness. And remember, the wilderness is not, Sherwood Forrest. Robin Hood and his men are there. It's not a lush green place. It's sand and rocks. It's desert. It's awful, the wilderness. And they were there for 40 years until all those people died out. All those numbered people from 20 years old and upward who said we're not going to be able to make it. I wish we had died in the wilderness. Why is God taking us into this land? So we would die in this, land flowing with milk and honey. we should go back to Egypt. That was their. And their moaning and groaning and whining and crying and, just no faith at all. Even though Joshua and Caleb, two of the 12 spies, said, Listen, we need to go get the land because the land is good, because God is faithful to declare your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night. The God who can't lie promised us that land. We have to go get it. It's not a vacant piece of property. But God is going to give us the victory. And I don't care how tall those people are over there, I don't care how fortified the cities are over there. They're nothing compared to our, God. And yet the people didn't do it. So the Lord said, okay, here's the deal. You're going to die in the wilderness and, you're going to wander around for 40 years and, you talk about funerals. They would have, the deaths would be about 1300amonth to wipe out all those people over that time frame. And so every time you turn around, another person was dying, another person was dying, another person was dying. And God was teaching his people in very concrete terms. Sin brings death. Unbelief is a terrible, horrible sin, and it brings death. And, you know, if you boil the Bible down to two words, just two words, these would be the words, trust me. God says, trust me, you and I can trust him because he loves us, because he is faithful and true and righteous in all his ways. Well, you're listening to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here on American Folks Family Radio. We're up against a break, but we'll be right back. Don't go away.
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: This is real truth for today. Podcasts of the program are available on the podcast [email protected] now back to Pastor Jeff, Sri Lanka.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program. Pastor Jeff here, you heard from, Walker Wildmon. He was talking about the midterm elections, and those are very important. Now, you may have seen last night, Trey Gowdy sat down with President Trump, and one of the biggest issues, obviously, in this, upcoming election, the midterms, has to do with inflation, has to do with gas prices, and, gas prices are tied to the war in Iran. And so Trey Gowdy asked President Trump, okay, how do you present this and, make the case that this was a good war to get into? And I think it's important that we hear his answer right.
Speaker E: Speaking of the people you surround yourself with, I want you to imagine you're the lead prosecutor, but you've got Marco Rubio and Jon Ratcliffe sitting at the council table with you, and you are addressing a jury of undecided midterm votes, and their question is, convince us on the issue of Iran, how it is in our best interest. If you were the prosecutor in that case, what would you tell them?
Donald Trump: It's a very easy question. Iran is a number one leading state sponsor of terror. You've heard that many times in the whole world. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. I have numerous people said, well, did you have to do it? And then I say, do you think it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon? Nuclear weapon is massive destruction. You know, take what you see and multiply times 100. And everybody says no. I've had people on the other side asking me or debating me. Let's say on that question, most people are absolutely fine with it. They were fine with Venezuela. They were all against Venezuela when I did it. And now look how that's turned out so great. But they were against this, too. And all I say is, is okay for. Is it okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon? I've never had anyone say yes. And as soon as they say no, it's not okay, I said, well, then I'm right. But we're doing a great job. The blockade has been unbelievable. The financial, the financial hits that we're giving them, we're hitting them very hard. Never. Nobody's ever been hit like this. And they're a failing nation right now. And at the right point, we'll either win or they'll do something. But, you know, I don't mind winning, just winning that. I don't need a signature on a piece of paper, but we're doing very well. Their Navy's gone, their air force is gone. Their leaders are gone. They're all of their anti aircraft, I mean, so wiped out. They're tough people, they're smart people, but, they're very evil. They killed 52,000 protesters as of three months ago. And sadly, they've added very substantially to that list. Even people that aren't protesting, they go into the houses and they take them and they shoot them.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, that's, Donald Trump talking about why, it was right for us to attack Iran and to, take them out. Hopefully that's the goal. Take out that evil regime and the things that they do, just so terrible. And my prayer has been that righteousness would prevail and wickedness would, would fail in that, altercation. But that's why you have, Persians, Iranians that say, we want this. And even to the point of if there is collateral damage, we're okay with that because this regime is so oppressive and so evil and so, awful that we need to take whatever measures possible to, break the back of this evil regime. You know, it's amazing to me that, we don't learn from what's just happening in our lifetimes. 1979, you've heard me say this before, but it bears repeating. 1979, you had the Marxists team up with the Islamist to overthrow the Shah of Iran. And so then when they overthrew him, they took power. And the Islamists immediately, I say immediately. Very soon afterward, they had the upper hand. You know, politics makes strange bedfellows. And the enemy of my enemy is my friend until you get rid of the enemy. And then you realize, I hate this guy I've teamed up with. Well, the Muslims hate the Marxists and the progressives. And the progressives, hate the Muslims, but the Muslims are much more committed to the cause. And so they executed the Marxists and then they took control, complete control. And, then everything became oppressive. Well, that same scenario, is playing out in America as the Democratic Party has embraced Islam. I read today where California is wanting to pass a law to designate two Islamic holy days as state holidays. In California, just to show the Muslims, hey, we're all for you. I saw Kathi Hochul, dressed up in garb, the Muslim m. Garb, to show her support of Muslims. it's just, it's unbelievable. You are playing with a poisonous snake that will turn around and bite you. I read this morning about a pastor in Indonesia, Didi Saputra, if I'm saying his name right, he was a Muslim and he came to faith in Christ. And now he's a pastor in Indonesia. Well, he was sentenced to just this last few days, sentenced to two years in prison because he violated the blasphemy and hate speech laws of the area. And, the prosecutors wanted four years. This is what he said that made them so mad. Muhammad, before becoming a prophet, had only one wife, but when he became a prophet, he had dozens. Now, that is factually incorrect because most will say he had 11, to 13, depending on how you view it. They probably had concubines in there. but as far as wives go, dozens is not correct. He could have said a dozen, and that would have been, ballpark, factually correct. But you get the point of his statement. And, you know, you ask, you ask AI, and AI is, in my opinion, AI is so liberal, every answer is going to be like you're talking to Raechel Maddow on cnn. But, AI was like, well, what he said was factually incorrect. I said, well, do you think he should go to prison for that? Well, no, he shouldn't go to prison for that. But it was factually incorrect. I said, how about you take dozens and change it to the word dozen? Well, then that would be more factually correct. he gets prison time for that. You can't speak anything against Muhammad under Sharia law, or you get put to prison or you get put to death. severe. when I was talking to my friend Dr. Dean and he was sharing with the church about Islam, he said, you can have somebody who is very, moderate as a Muslim. I mean, doesn't go to the mosque, doesn't really, hold to reading the Quran or any of that stuff. But said two things can make a very moderate, seemingly uninterested Muslim, a radical. Very quickly, you speak out against Muhammad or you speak out against the Quran. And those two things cause a person that's hitting on the hot button for a Muslim, even the most, uninterested of Muslims. And so you're going to go to jail or you're going to be put to death. You start speaking out against Islam. Listen, that is coming to a theater near you. As I like to say, if we keep going in this direction, you know, Jesus said In Jon chapter 16, interesting passage of scripture, he said, these things, I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue. But an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they Will do. Because they have not known the Father or me. Now we saw that in the Apostle Paul. He is breathing out threats and murders against the disciples of the Lord. And he was the one that was arresting people and sending them to prison. And you know, when Herod put Acts chapter 12, when he put James to death, he was cheered for it. And they said, that's good. And so, you have people in the name of religion that are wanting to go after Christians, because it's all satanically inspired, demonically inspired. You have God and you have the truth of God and then you have everything else. All the false cults, all the false religions, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, whatever it is, it's all from the devil because he is a liar and the father of lies. Now I saw also ran across this weekend a, post by Ken Ham. Ken Ham's been a guest on the program before. He has the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. I love Ken Ham. I love the way he stands up for truth, stands up for the book of Genesis. He said Genesis chapters 1:11 answers all the questions that we're dealing with today. And he doesn't back down for a nanosecond that he believes on what he believes regarding the fact that God created this world in six 24 hour days. The world is not billions and billions of years old. The world is relatively young based on the ages given in the Bible for the people that God created. When did God create the first two people? They were created on day six, Adam and Eve. And so you look at their lifespans and the years that are given there in the book of Genesis and you find out that the world is not billions of years old. And we have people. And Ken Ham's called out people like William Laine Craig, who just capitulates to the conventional wisdom, the science of the day that says, well, obviously the world is very, very old. And so they just go along with it. And Ken Ham says, I'm not going along with that. Let God be found. True though, every man be found a liar. I'm going to believe the word of God. So I love him for that. Well, he got a lot of heat for saying some things about, Dolly Parton. You know, I talked about Dolly Parton last week and I said, hey, I hope Dolly Parton is in heaven. I want everybody to go to heaven. I'm not wishing for anybody to, to be, to perish and to spend eternity in hell. But these people that just wrote all these Glowing things about Dolly Parton and being welcomed into heaven and well done, my good and faithful servant. That kind of attitude, there's nothing in her life that would indicate that. And so we're not the judge, God is the judge. But we can tell you what the judge said. And you know, we need to be careful with those that we preach into heaven, so to speak. And we, after they die, say, oh, they were just such a wonderful person. I, think most people think Dolly Parton is in heaven because she was a wonderful person and she was so nice and she was so good. And of course you're going to heaven if you're nice and good. Well, there's none righteous, not even one. And Nicodemus was the most righteous man, most moral man, most morally upstanding man on the planet. We could say in Jon 3, and he's the teacher of Israel, he had the respect of the whole nation. And Jesus said, unless you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. You can't enter the kingdom of God. See the kingdom of God. Marvel not that I say to you, you must be born again. Now I believe that, scripture alludes to the fact that Nicodemus did put his faith and trust in Jesus, but he didn't in Jon chapter three. And you, know, if the most moral religious man on the planet at that time needs to be born again, guess what? So do you. So do I. So does Dolly Parton. Now Dolly Parton shared a little bit of a, ah, testimony, if we could call it that, where she said that her grandfather was a preacher, Pentecostal hellfire and brimstone. And she supposedly got saved all these different times, but it was all out of fear and it wasn't, I don't think she really understood. I've never heard her really use the name Jesus in talking about this, but she said that she had an experience with the Lord in a rundown church. it was just her and the Lord, but it is still kind of vague and fuzzy. So it's one of those things that you're like, I don't know if she is or if she's not. I want her to be in heaven. Hey, I don't know about my own dad. I was able to share with him before he passed away. And I hope that he told me he trusted Christ, but you know, it's kind of hard to see in an 80 something year old person a big life change. And, and I hope that's true, but I don't know for sure. And so, you know, we just say, as Paul said to Timothy, the Lord knows those who are his. And so poor Cain, Ham was getting hammered because people say, how dare you? You're not her judge. Obviously, he's not the judge, but, we have to be careful. Peter said, make sure that your calling and election, is legit. 2 Peter 1:10. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. For as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. He's talking about all the things that we, apply and add to our faith. Moral excellence, knowledge, self control, perseverance, Godliness, brotherly kindness and love. And so, people that, are walking with the Lord, they have confidence and, they can't wait for the Lord to return. And they're ready to go whenever the Lord would call them. People that aren't walking with the Lord now, little children abide in him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink back in shame at his coming. If you claim to be a Christian and you're not walking in his ways, you're going to have a big question mark over your eternity. You're not going to know for sure about that. but when you walk with the Lord, you walk in the light as He Himself is in the light. You have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses you from all sin. Well, you're listening to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here. When we come back from the break, we'll be taking your calls. 888-589-8840. That's 888-589-8840. If you have a question or a comment or something, that we haven't talked about today, but you say, hey, I'd like to talk about X. I'd be more than willing to talk to you about it. I do want to give a big shout out. I don't know how many of you watched the golf tournament yesterday, the FedEx cup championship, but big shout out to Scotty Scheffler for winning that. The payday on it was huge. 10 million for the winner. And, that guy is just amazing. And Scotty professes, unashamedly his faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I have a good clip from him when we come back from the break. Don't go away.
: If you'd like to contact Pastor Jeff, email Pastor Jeff at. Ah, from his heart. Now back to Real Truth for Today with Pastor Jeff Schrieve.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program. Pastor Jeff here. We're taking your calls. 888-589-8840. That's 885-89840. If you have a question or a comment, I'd love to hear from you. I did say, just at the close of the last segment, Scotty Scheffler, he was, being interviewed for the big victory yesterday, and I, love what he had to say about his. His family, his dad, and how they love him. Let me play this clip.
Speaker G: I just feel like we have a really close family, and I feel like it starts with my parents. You know, I have parents that, you know, my dad would lay in front of traffic for me if it meant that I wouldn't get a scratch on my elbow. And, you know, I feel like no matter how I play on the golf course, I'm always coming home to people that love me. You know, my wife first and foremost when it comes to that, but my parents as well. I felt like, growing up in golf, your parents want what's best for you and obviously want you to succeed and achieve your dreams. And I felt that for my parents. But I also felt that it was okay if I didn't make it out here, if I didn't win today, or if I never made it to the PGA Tour. That was okay for all of us. You know, my parents wanted me to chase after my dreams, and I'm just glad to have their support.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yeah, Scotty's amazing. Obviously, the best player in the world. He proved it again yesterday. And, what a year that guy's had. And a great ambassador, for Jesus. He's very real, very down to earth. He doesn't put on airs, from my perspective. And I, appreciate the fact that, as he says with pro golfers, it's not like another sport. You're out there in front of the cameras for hours. you're walking the course, and he said, there are cameras in your face constantly. You know, whatever happens is going to be picked up. You know, every, every stumble, anything that you do, you scratch yourself wrong, they're going to have it on camera. That would be hard to get used to that. And, golf is a hard game anyway, but to have that, broadcast on national and international television every time you turn around, that would be very, very difficult. So hats off to all those guys that do that. but special shout out to Scotty Scheffler for his victory. Well, we're going to the phone lines. 888-589-8840. And we have Paula on the line from Oklahoma. Paula, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Hey, Pastor Jeff. I know nobody's really spoken on this about Dolly, Parton and her dress, the way she, you know, reveals herself constantly. And I just. First Corinthians 6, you know, I was delivered out homosexuality and born again. And you become a new creature in Christ. And there's scripture in there that says it's worse to have a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of my low ones to stumble. And so I just think that if we are true followers of Christ, we don't want to say or do anything that would cost somebody else to stumble. And I just feel like she. She put it all out there. You know, that's just the way I. I'm not judging whether she's in heaven or hell. That's not like you said. I hope she is. But it just, I mean, I m just wish women would, you know, understand what men have to go through. You know, they just. Well, it's my choice to wear what I want. Even at churches, you know, there's just, it's. I'm not saying you got to be approved, but my goodness, right. I wish that older women would, you know, and if you say one thing to younger women, I was in a church, Baptist church, a couple of weeks ago, and there was a young girl in there, and she was dressed so provocative. And I know that wasn't hooked up first time at church. She's not a believer. They should still say, look, sweetie pie, you need to put a few little bit more clothes on, you know, work on this.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes, good point, Paula. Yeah. You know, as it, as it relates to, to a changed life. So, you know, several have brought that up. Said, you know, Dolly doesn't. This was from protestia and they played a game clip from Dolly. They just said Dolly Parton doesn't talk about her faith like someone who has been a Christian for 50 years. Instead, she talks about God a fair amount, but never Jesus or any other allusions to the gospel. And she talks about it in a way someone does when they haven't been attending church for 50 years. it's just, you know, it's a very distant thing that they're talking about. rather than, you know, it's easy to say the Lord is the Savior, but can you say the Lord is my savior? And it's personal. And so who knows on that thing As I agree with you, we want her to be in heaven, but the Lord knows those who are his. And I don't find any statement that she said, publicly that would make me think, yes, she had understood who Jesus was. She understood the exclusion, exclusivity of the gospel. She put her faith and trust in Jesus and Jesus alone for salvation. If she did, she didn't communicate that very well at all. And so it doesn't give us anything to go by. But, as far as the modesty goes, Paula, you're exactly right. And, women need to be careful with that. And, I used to say, hey, if you're not for sale, don't advertise. And, carry yourself in a way that would be honoring to the Lord. Men too. don't wear clothes that would be causing, people to look at you in a certain way, in a lustful way. I remember Joe Rogan looked at a picture of Carl Lentz. Carl Lentz, who was the disgraced pastor at that time. He wasn't. He was Justin Bieber's pastor at Hillsong in NewSong York. And he would wear his pants so low. And, Joe Rogan, not a believer, looked at that and said, that guy is looking to have an affair. you call that guy a pastor? No, way. And, from an unbelieving standpoint, they look at that and say, this is wrong. So, I appreciate the call and I appreciate the comments. Thanks, Paula. We have David on the line from Virginia. David, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Thank you. Good morning, sir.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Good morning.
Caroline: Ultimately. Ultimately, I have a favor to ask. Okay, so Saturday, I had lunch with a friend who I've known for approximately 36 years. And I believe that God used him 36 years ago to hire me at a position. and it's been just, you know, it's been a big part of my life. It's. It's, It was a bunch of years that I've. I've worked with these people, and it's just, you know, I believe it's a big part of where I'm at now and all that. Well, so we had lunch, and I was. I had the hopes to talk to him about certain specific things about the Lord, and I. I did, but I'm just terrible at it. I'm, I, wish that I could do it over, and I don't think I did a good enough job. So, I prayed about it before I met, before we had lunch, and then I prayed about afterwards, and then today I was, on my way to work and I'm listening to David Jeremiah and he is talking exactly. I wish I could have, you know, said exactly what David Jeremiah was saying. And then you, with your, your beginning part of your, your show today, you are now hitting on the same exact things I wish I could, I could have said to him. So I, my plan is to, to get the David Jeremiah and your, you know, today's broadcast and I'm gonna text them to him and beg him to listen to him. But the savor is he's going to hear this and I really wish you would pray for him because only God knows where people are and you know, with their salvation. And I really, I really want my friend Jim to understand what I was trying to say Saturday.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yeah, well, David, don't beat yourself up on that because, you know, the Lord, The Lord uses our faithfulness. Even if we're not very. Feel like we did a very good job. Preachers feel like that a lot where it's like, I don't think I did very well today. But you never know how the Lord will take it and use it. That's why it's important to memorize scripture, to be able to share scripture. Because Isaiah 55 says that God's word does not return, void. And so as we plant a verse of scripture in somebody's mind and heart, God can use that later on down the road. And we don't know how they, you know, we look at the person as we're talking to them and say, this is not making any headway, but you don't know, what's going on in their heart. They may not tell you that. And so we just, we just have to pray that in. And water that in and say God, take the seed that was sown and use it in their lives. But we can definitely pray for Jim. David and I, would just be careful. Here would be my caution for you. if you don't sense he's very open, don't keep pushing it on him because that causes somebody to just really back off and then they don't want to be around you. So look for when the opportunity is there, when you sense that there's a little bit of an open door, then you can ask. But if you try and break open the door, he's not going to be receptive. You know, it's kind of like, taking a piece of fruit that's not ripe and you're trying to pull it off the tree, it doesn't want to come off because it's not anywhere near ready to go. When it's ripe, you just have to give it a gentle tug and it comes off. And so we don't want to be, trying to jerk fruit off the tree when it's not ready. And the Lord has to work that into, Jim's heart. And I, appreciate the fact that you have a heart and desire to see him saved, but you just have to be sensitive to that. That's why we talk about shine and share. once you share with someone and let, them know you've been saved and this is what Jesus has done in your life. And you want them to experience what you've experienced. And if there's not an openness to that, then you just shine from that moment on. You don't keep, you don't keep sharing. You just start, hey, I'm going to just show you. And, you're going to see the difference in my life. And the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Jesus then is, allowed to take effect as that person sees that the Lord really has made a difference in your life. And then that person will start to ask some questions. So I appreciate, David, you being so honest and so let's pray for Jim right now. Father in heaven, we just lift up Jim M to you. I thank you for David and the heart that he has for his friend Jim and just ask you to open his blind eyes to truth, soften his heart. And, Lord, that there would be an opportunity, for him to talk to Jim again. And whether that's using David, Jeremiah or what I said today on the program, whatever, you want to use, Lord, I pray that he would have ears to hear and he would respond to you. Thank you that you love him. Thank you that you died for him on the cross, rose again from the dead, that you want to have a personal relationship with, with him. And Lord, help him to hear your voice so that he can respond to you. In Jesus name, amen. Well, God bless you, brother. Thank you for the call. We have Joe on the line from North Carolina. Joe, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Well, it's North Carolina where I reside, but right now I'm walking in streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, getting my early power walk in. All right, Before I continue my mission, my mission here we had a, we had a 1975, I'll give away my age Bayview High school school, Milwaukee, Wisconsin reunion. And I brought along proclaiming the gospel.org literature with me. Why? Because the majority of folks are Catholics, but they are completely fallen off the planet Catholics. They, they don't have a faith. So I passed, the literature out to them, planned to see, talked to him a little bit. And the whole time, every single one of them paid. Eye contact. I don't run into that in North Carolina sometimes, but. And they're nodding their heads, they're saying, wow, I had no idea what was. Where I'm going. I don't. Heaven, Hell. Yeah, yeah, I think about it. Well, here, this will help you solve
Caroline: it
Caroline: at the follow steps in there. And we all know what it's on afr, so I don't know. I'm not going to rehash it with the art. Right. They got a couple good, clear understanding. The seed is planted here in Milwaukee, at least. My basic Bayview High School grads and some local relatives that are here because I'm originally here. I lived here, of course. And, my estranged sister not only listened to me. Great eye contact. She took extra for others that she knows in the same boat as hers. So, yeah, I'm just asking you all like my congregation did back in North Carolina yesterday morning. Masking all, everybody, AFR listener, pray that the seeds that I planted mature.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes, Amen to that, Joe. And God bless you for doing that. And, you know, here's the thing that we fail to realize so much of the time as Christians, we have what everybody needs. we have a personal relationship with Jesus. They may not know they need that, but they desperately need that. And, we can share with them as we, as we lovingly share and speak the truth in love and ask them about their lives, ask them about their eternity. you may get a harsh response. You may get shut down. That's okay. You just move on to the next person. I used to say this. It's like you're on the street corner, you're handing out, a million dollars in cash. Who wants to receive this? If somebody doesn't, well, that's on them. I just go on to the next person. And we have something that is so much greater, to share with people than a million dollars. We have, the word of eternal life. We have God's own son, who wants us to tell everybody. Go tell it on the mountains, over the hills and everywhere that Jesus Christ is born, that Jesus Christ died for sinners and that he rose again from the dead, and that he offers eternal life to any and all who will repent. Turn from sin and turn to Jesus in surrender. And the moment that you do that, as the song says, if you take one step toward the Savior, my friend, you'll find his arms open wide. there's pardon for you. There's a new life in Jesus. He wants to change us. He came that we might have life and might have it abundantly. Well, thank you for listening to Real Truth for today. It's a joy to get to speak with you. Look forward to being with you again tomorrow. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here. Go out today. Shine for Christ and share what great things the Lord has done for you, and God will use you as his witness. God bless you.
Pastor Jeff Schreve explores what it means to trust God when faith is tested and the world around us seems increasingly hostile to biblical truth. Drawing from Scripture, Pastor Jeff discusses God’s faithfulness, the consequences of unbelief, salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, and the assurance believers have in Christ.
The program also addresses current cultural and political issues, religious persecution, the importance of standing firmly on God’s Word, and the need for Christians to live lives that demonstrate genuine faith. Pastor Jeff emphasizes the importance of sharing the gospel with others while allowing God to work in their hearts.
Listeners will also hear encouraging calls from Christians seeking to share their faith with friends and family, along with a reminder that we have the greatest message of all—the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
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