: 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. It is Wednesday, September 9th. Hope you're having a, a great morning. I have a question for you. As we begin today. What is the easiest thing for you to do in the Christian life? Think about that. The easiest thing to do in the Christian life. Now think about this question. What is the hardest thing to do in the Christian life? Now, I contend that the easiest thing to do and the hardest thing to do are, ah, the same thing. It is praying. Praying is the easiest thing to do. You don't have to have a seminary degree to pray. You don't have to have any, credentials to pray. You don't even have to know that much about the Bible to pray. A, little child talks to his loving father. That's an easy thing to do. But yet it's the hardest thing to do. Because the devil knows that there's power in prayer and the devil doesn't want us to pray, so he causes us to have difficulty to pray. Think about the hardest thing to do. ah. Would it be easier for you to read the Bible for 30 minutes or to pray for 30 minutes? I think for most of us we would say, well, praying for 30 minutes, I run out of things to say. I remember when I was a young Christian and I was in a discipleship group my freshman year in college at the University of Texas in Austin. And I was in this group with four or five other guys and our discipleship leader. And at the end of our time together, we Met once a week for about an hour and a half. We would have prayer, and we would go around, the room and pray and pray out loud. And, man, I was nervous. I was one of the younger Christians in there. it was difficult because I didn't know what to say. And, you, know, if you were toward the end of the line, it's like, okay, everything has been prayed for. What do I pray for? I don't know what to pray for. I guess nobody has prayed for the Albanians. I'll pray for them. I mean, it's one of those things. You're just trying to come up with something. And, I remember telling my discipleship leader, I said, you know, I really get uncomfortable when you ask us to pray out loud because I don't do it near as well as these other guys do. And he told me, he said, well, Jeff, I like to hear you pray like you do. because I'm not very good. My prayers were very short. He said, I like to hear you pray because these other guys grew up in church and they know how to pray. In terms of how to fill up airspace. He said, you don't know how to pray, so you just pray from your heart. And all your prayers are very sincere and very genuine, and they're not flowery and they're not using church language. And so he says, you pray from the heart, and I like that. He said, God likes that. And God likes it when we pray from the heart. It's easy in one sense to pray from the heart and just tell the Lord, Pour out your heart to the Lord. Tell the Lord what you're struggling with, what you're frustrated with, what you're fearful of, what you have going on in your life, what's coming up that has you nervous and afraid. you can tell the Lord, you know, what you're. What you're excited about. You can tell the Lord what, you know, this good thing happened to you. You. You share with God. Prayer is sharing with your best friend, the friend that sticks closer than a brother. Sharing with your best friend, your day. And, it's best to start your day off praying and saying, lord, here's my day. Here's what I have going on, and I need you. I love Psalm 116. The Psalmist says this. I love the Lord. Why? Because he hears my voice and my supplications. Because he has inclined his ear to me. Therefore I shall call upon him as long as I live. God has inclined his ear to his children. He has invited us to come before the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace to help in time of need. We are so very foolish by not taking advantage of the opportunity that we have the privilege that we have to come before the Lord and to bring our needs before him and to call upon his name. Now, I have been reading through the book, the complete works of E.M. bounds on prayer. E.M. bounds was a pastor, and he wrote, many, many books on prayer. This is all his volumes on prayer. They're kind of short little devotionals. But this book is, about 570 pages as it puts all his volumes together. And this morning I was reading about answered prayer. And there was a portion in here that was just, very convict, but, encouraging at the same time. Convicting. also, he says this. If all unanswered prayers were dumped into the ocean, they would come very near, filling it to the top. Child of God, can you pray? Are your prayers answered? If not, why not? Answered prayer is the proof of your real praying. He goes on to make the case, that, listen, we don't get points for just, going through the motions of prayer. Now, prayer has two main purposes. The first purpose is to draw us near to God so that we would spend time and marinate in his presence. You know, prayer is not just coming before the Lord with a long laundry list. I want you to do this for me, and that for me, and the other for me. I mean, we forget God is the master, we're the slave. the slave doesn't tell his master, what he needs to do. The slave receives from the master what the master wants the slave to do. But we can make requests to the master, who is the king, who is also our Father and a friend that sticks closer than a brother. So prayer is us coming before the Lord to spend time in his presence. The Bible says in Psalm 16, in your presence is fullness of joy, and in your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Just to be in the presence of the Lord. What a blessing. But it's also to bring our needs before him. rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice. Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing. Philippians 4. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds. In Christ Jesus. One of the things that we receive from the Lord when we come before him. Is we receive that peace that we have brought our request to him. And, God has inclined his ear to us. And God is a God who answers prayer. Come to me. what does he say, Jeremiah? 33, 3. Call to me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know. Now, I've been preaching through numbers, going, hitting the high points in the book of numbers on Sunday morning here at First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. And, one of the things that strikes, me as I read through numbers is how many times Moses, the man of God, when he is confronted by the people, you know, they're always upset with him. Always upset with the leader. Grumbling, griping, complaining. Hey, I get it. Life is hard wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years. The wilderness, as I've told the church, is not. Don't think of Robin Hood and the Sherwood Forrest. The wilderness is rocks and sand. It's the desert. It's difficult out there. And the people, get upset. They get frustrated. They're hot. People are dying like crazy because when they were supposed to go into the promised land, they didn't go into the promised land. And there's lots of grumbling and lots of griping and lots of complaining. And although they are eating the bread of, heaven, the bread of angels, as God brought the manna, day by day by day, they get sick of eating manna. Because, when you have manna for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 40 years, that can be pretty difficult. They say in numbers, 21. We loathe this miserable food. All there is is this manna. And I'm so sick of it. And you said we were going to a land that flows with milk and honey. This is not it. Well, they would have, had they not disbelieved God. They would have gone in, very soon after crossing the Red Sea and getting the Ten Commandments is about 13 months. They would have gone into the promised land, but they didn't. And so here's the thing about Moses. When the people come up against him, he always responds the same way. He falls on his face when they're upset with him. We want to go back to Egypt. Let's appoint a leader to go back to Egypt. Then Moses fell on his face. He and Eryn would fall on their face in prayer, and they'd bring that problem to God. Now, these are big problems. You know, when the people. He's got a lot of people, probably two to two and a half million people that he's leading. And, they are rebellious group, calling this series that I'm preaching unbelieving believers. And so it's hard to know. You read about them. It's like these people really have they put their faith and trust in God, because it sure doesn't sound like it. And, as a group, they did. But individually, many of them weren't true believers. But Moses responded to the difficulties always the same way by calling on the Lord. You know, it has been said, and this is so true, we can do more than pray after we pray, but we can't do more than pray before we pray. And a lack of prayer. This is convicting, but it's really true. A lack of prayer reveals a lack of humility. Moses is a great prayer warrior. He's a great model, for prayer. He's a great intercessor. God in more than one occasion said Moses, I'm going to get out of the way. I'm going to wipe all these people out. And Moses interceded for the people, Lord, don't do that. And he's, a picture, ah, Old Testament picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a mediator between God and men. And Moses prayed, and Moses was humble. The Bible says in numbers, chapter 12, he was the most humble man on the face of the earth. Humility shows us, hey, I'm a nothing, nobody. I can't do this without the Lord. And so, when we're humble, we pray. When we're humble, we see we're not able. When we're humble, we say, oh, God, I need you. When you're prideful, you say, I can handle this on my own. You know, there are a lot of guys, I'm not one of them, but a lot of guys who have, the gift of Gabriel and they can just kind of go off the cuff and come up with a sermon on the spot. And, guys like that that are very, very gifted in speaking, there's a tendency there to trust in that gift. You don't ever want to trust in your gift. You always want to trust in the Lord. And I think God has gifted me to preach and to teach. But that doesn't come from anything in, my flesh because in my. I don't, feel adequate, not one little bit. When I had to give book, oral book report or something like that in school, I would have rather taken a zero. I never wanted to do that. I didn't want to get up and speak, before a crowd because that just scared me. To death. So it's just like the Lord, to take a guy like that as he took Moses. Moses said, lord, you got the wrong guy. I'm not a good speaker. you know, get somebody else. Here I am, Lord. Send Eryn, send anybody else. I was kind of like that. Well, God, how can I do this? Because, I don't like to speak in front of people. I get nervous if I speak in front of seven, or eight people. And even, even today, you know, my family, my, my mom and my brothers and sisters, they'll marvel at, at what I do, getting up to preach. Because they say that that is not like you. that is not, the Jeff we knew growing up. You were shy, and I am naturally shy by nature. But the Lord called me and the Lord has equipped me and I recognize I desperately need him. Apart from you, Jesus, I can do nothing. But with you, I can do all things. So we're talking about the power of prayer now. We're going to shift it, as we move into this next segment after the break, to the fact that Christians can make a huge difference in our country as we pray. Because God is the God who hears our prayers. God is the God who answers our prayers. And if our prayers aren't being answered, why is that? We'll be right back.
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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 Schrieve.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program. We're talking about the power of prayer. As I read to you from the book the complete works of E.M. bounds on prayer. He says, answered prayer is the proof of your real praying. Are, your prayers being answered? If not, why not? God longs to answer prayer. Call to me, and I will answer you. Now we can pray, and the Lord can say, no. Moses, this great man of prayer, he asked God to reconsider about letting him into the promised land. And the Lord said, enough. speak to me no more about this. You're, not going in. I already told you you weren't going in. Drop it. And so sometimes God says no. Sometimes God says, wait. Sometimes God says, yes, and he does that. Or God may say, wait, it's not the right time. Or he says, I have something better in mind. And so he takes our prayers and he redirects them, and, he answers them in a better way. So we pray from our heart, and we pray, hopefully prayerfully. we pray from a heart that is conditioned by the scripture. And I found, too, that the best prayers are praying God's word back to Him. Now, not just, mindless, reading of the Word back to God, but claiming those things and saying, God, you said that, if I lack wisdom, James 1:5, that I can ask of you, and you will give me wisdom. And so, Lord, I need wisdom to know what to do in this situation. Wisdom is seeing life from God's perspective. If you have a choice to make about a job, maybe you have, the job you currently have, and somebody is offering you another job, but that's in another city. You don't know, should I do this or not do this. And, you can, you know, go back and forth in your mind, say, lord, give me wisdom. Show me what I'm supposed to do here. And I. I'm looking to you for this, and I'm claiming your word. You said that you would show me. You said that you would give me wisdom. And so I need that God loves it when we pray his word back to him. So let's think about this, this power of prayer. Let's think about it as it relates to our country. Now, you have, as I mentioned yesterday, we have two political parties in America, that are viable parties. You know, it's either either a Republican's going to win or a Democrat's going to win. That's the way it's been for a long, long time. And, I don't see it changing, not in the near future. So as we think about who has the best plan and the best program for America, well, obviously not the radicals, those who want to fundamentally change America fundamentally change the Constitution, want to turn us into a socialistic, nation, which socialism always leads to full, blown communism. The DSA has said that what is our goal? It's communism. So socialism is just a stepping stone to get to communism. Communism is disaster. It's disaster for the masses. If you and I, as believers, if we care about people, greatest commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Second greatest commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments, Jesus said, hang the whole law and the prophets. So if we love God and love people, we don't want to see, politics come into being and a, politician get elected who's going to move the country into a socialistic, communistic, direction. Because that would be a disaster for people, and we love people. We don't want to see a politician who is divorced from reality. As the LGBTQIA agenda, is, where they call men women and women men, and you can be whatever you want and woman, is a woman, and just that kind of circular argument and reasoning. What is a woman? Well, a woman is a woman. if you watch Matt Walsh's, video, his movie on what is a woman? That's how that was argued. And it's like, well, that's not an answer. And so, you can't vote, for people that are that divorced from reality, because just like you wouldn't want, your pilot to be somebody divorced from reality. You want that pilot regardless of the color of his skin. You want him to know how to fly a plane, how to land a plane, how to take off, and how to land. those things are critical. You want your surgeon to be somebody who is good at doing the surgery. his. His skin color does not play into it. And so we look at situations that are facing our country today with these midterms coming up, and we say, well, what is a Christian to do? Ah, as I said yesterday, hey, your vote matters, and you need to be informed. Ivoterguide.com from American Family association, you can go to that website and you can find out, what is at stake, what does this candidate believe, what that candidate believe, and then vote for the candidates that are going to be more closely aligned with, the Bible than, those that are going to be, far away from the Bible and moving further away from the Bible. Now, in Texas, we have a big race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico. And people, are upset because Ken Paxton just dropped a new Ad that is AI generated, that takes statements from James Talarico and, puts them together in a commercial. And, obviously these are not things that James Talarico sat down to, produce. It's AI, but it's AI that's taking his actual statements and putting them in a commercial. Here is the ad.
Speaker F: In the beginning, God was non binary and he wasn't a Christian. And God said, let there be six genders, and there were. Then God so loved the world that he gave us his only son, who was a radical feminist and never asked people to worship him. Look, I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: James Talarico, wrong for Texas.
Speaker F: America is not a Christian nation.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: And wrong for America too.
Reporter: I'm Ken Paxton and I approve this message.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, they don't, Talarico fans don't like that commercial at all. And they said that should be banned. You shouldn't be able to do an AI commercial. But it's all that things that, Talarico has said. And so he would be. I totally agree. He would be bad for Texas. He would be bad for America. I wouldn't vote for that guy to do anything that could affect people's lives. And, you know, the worst kind of delusion is spiritual delusion. That guy, he promotes himself as this seminarian, this guy. I've studied the scripture, blah, blah, blah. They didn't believe any of it. you know, God is non binary. There are six genders. Jesus was a radical feminist. I mean, just insane. He never, told anyone to worship him. Jesus is God. And, you know, this before that, the announcement of Gabriel, Luke, chapter one to Mary, he says that, he had to get permission from Mary to be able to, fulfill that announcement. You're going to bear the Christ child. She had to say, okay, I'm in on this. And there was a question. There was no question. Gabriel didn't ask her a question. Do you want this? He just said this was going to happen. And, every Jewish woman wanted that. That was the longing of their heart, that they could be the mother of the Christ child, the deliver of Israel. I mean, that was the, dream and the desire and for God to choose Mary. Little, old Mary from grease spot town known as Nazareth. That was unheard of. But God is the God who sees the little things. it says in Genesis, chapter 16, God is el Roi. That's what Hagar called him. You are the God who sees me and God sees us. And so as we Think about prayer. Well, we need to be praying for our country. Now those in Texas, especially if you live in Dallas, know that there's a big event tonight and tomorrow. I say tonight starts at 3 o', clock, but it's called a Trump, a Palooza. That's what they're calling this rally. And Donald Trump is going to be there tonight, tomorrow night along with a bunch of other people. It's an American Airlines center. It goes from 3:00pm to 9:00pm they're expecting full house, 20,000 for both nights. JD Vance is going to be there. Governor Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, Ken Paxton, Dan Patrick, all the bigwigs from government, especially in Texas government on the Republican side. And they're going to be having a tribute tomorrow night for Charlie Kirk. It's the one year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's murder as he was speaking on that campus in Utah. We have a special program planned for tomorrow where I interview Bill Federer, who is a close personal friend of Charlie Kirk. And then our own Jenna Ellis, who is also a personal friend of Charlie Kirk. And we remember Charlie Kirk. What a great, great young man. He was killed at the age of 31. Truly a Christian martyr. Killed for his faith. Well also at this rally, not only tomorrow night are they going to be remembering Charlie Kirk, but you have two pastors, actually three pastors that are going to be there. Two of them I consider friends. Dr. Jack Graham, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Jack is speaking tonight or actually this afternoon around three to four o', clock, somewhere in that time slot. And then Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, he's going to be speaking about the same time on Thursday around the three to four, time slot. And then pastor, another pastor I'm not familiar with, Lorenzo Sewell, he is from Detroit. He's going to be speaking there. And you know, here's the thing. When you think about, okay, you try and as people tend to do, especially those who are more moderate, more liberal, they tend to try and level the playing field when it comes to voting. Oh, you know, you got good guys on this side of the aisle and good guys on that side of the aisle, bad guys on this side of the aisle, bad guys on that side of the aisle. It's all about the same. And Republicans might be strong on the issue of abortion, but they're weak, as it relates to the poor and the sojourner and all those kinds of things. Just try and level everything out. Listen, not every issue is the same. There are certain issues. I remember talking to David Barton years ago and I asked him a question about, I can't remember now exactly how I worded the question, but his answer was this. He said, you show me how a politician looks at the issue of abortion, just that one issue. And he said, I can tell you how he's going to vote on a number of other issues. Because once you say it's okay to murder an unborn child, that reveals so much out of your heart. And, with the big issues, the Democrats, they get it so wrong. I've said this when Bishop Jackson was on the program on Friday. I can't think of one moral issue that the Democrats get right now. This idea. Well, they're very big in helping the poor and helping the homeless and helping, the poverty stricken and the down and out and the sojourners.
Caroline: Sojourner.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, they want to do that with your money. They don't do that with their own money. You know, when the Bible commands, the people of Israel to support the poor and the sojourner, that's not saying the government does that. That's saying the people do that. And you look at, say, okay, well, these programs that they have in California, I mean, we throw billions of dollars in stamping out poverty and homelessness. How is that working? Well, it's not working at all. We have more, poverty and more homelessness than ever before. You're not making any, dent in it. You're spending all this money and getting nothing for it. The real help you can give a person is to pull him out of the poverty, to pull him out of the homelessness, to help that person who is dirt poor and drug riddled and, living on the street to get him out of that so that he could be a productive. She could be a productive person in society. Not just to provide for them. Here's just some money. And as they do in California, here are drugs. Because we know you're a drug head. So we want to provide you with drugs. I mean, how sick and twisted and perverted is that? So what can we do? We as Christians can pray and we can pray to the God who answers. You know, First Kings 18, not all gods are created equal, if we could use those crude terms. Elijah prayed to the Lord and the prophets of BAAL prayed to the false God baal, the God who answered by fire. He is God. That was the challenge that Elijah threw down on Mount Carmel and he said to the people, how long will you hesitate between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, serve him. If BAAL is God, serve him. And they said, this is what we're going to do. We're going to have a showdown. The God who answers by fire, that is the true God. And the people said, that's a good idea. Let's do that. Well, you know in First Kings 18 that the God who answered by fire was not Baal because Baal is not God. The God who answered the prayer of that one prophet Elijah was Yahweh. And Yahweh answered, and he answered very, quickly, very definitively. And the people, they responded and said, the Lord, he is God. The Lord he is God. And they slew the prophets of BAAL there at the brook. what was it, kid? I'm going off memory here. Keyshawn Kidron, one of those brooks. And, there was a great victory that day. Hey, we can call on the God of the universe, the true God, as believers in Jesus, and we can pray and we can ask God for wisdom and we can get involved and we can make a difference. Well, you're listening to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here. And, when we come back from the break, we'll be taking your calls. 88858. That's 888-589-8840. If you have a question, a comment, a, prayer, testimony, I'd love to hear from you. So give me a call and let's talk.
: The God who Speaks is a powerful message on the authority of Scripture in the voices of some of the most respected theologians of our day.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: The most historic formula for the Christian church has been when the Scripture Speaks.
: God Speaks. The God who speaks is a 90 minute documentary which can empower Christians to share our faith and defend the authenticity of the Bible. Available at thegodwhospeaks.org or visit stream.aca.net
Reporter: the American Family Association's mission is to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of our corporations. We also support the church. Our goal is to be a leading organization in biblical worldview training for cultural transformation. We believe true morality flows from biblical principles and directs people to the manner in which God intends them to live.
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Pastor Jeff Schreve: Your Caregiver minute with Peter Rosenberger.
Peter Rosenberger: The things that I discuss here on this program are not exclusive to the Family Caregiver we just have to do it in this particular crucible as caregivers, because the acute, relentless, and sometimes overpowering suffering that we have to witness or participate in as caregivers forces us to ask and answer and deal with these types of questions that we would not normally deal with. The promise the human condition is we are not up to solving the problem. That's God's responsibility, God's job, God's purview, not ours. We are to be good stewards of what he's allowed us to go through, what he's purposed us to go through according to his will, according to his decree.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: This has been your caregiver minute with Peter Rosenberger. Learn more at Pope for the caregiver.com
Reporter: hello, I'm Walker Wildmon. My brother Wesley and I, we're going to be leading a group to Greece in March of 2027. We're going to be traversing and walking the footsteps of Paul, visiting cities like Thessaloniki, Athens, Philippi, Carth, just to name a few, many of the sites that the Apostle Paul walked and taught and preached and converted over unbelievers to Christianity as part of our early church history. And then right after that trip, my parents, Tim and Allison, they're going to be leading a group to Italy, looking at a lot of the rich, Italian history along with, the history of the early church there. In Italy, they're going to be visiting the cities of Venice, Rome, and Florence, just to name a few. Both of these trips are back to back. You can go on one or Both by visiting tours.aca.net to register. We'll see you in March of 2027. Tours.aca.net to register. Find out all the information and view the itinerary.
: If you'd like to contact Pastor Jeff, email pastorjeffromhishheart.org now back to Real Truth for today with Pastor Jeff Schrieve.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program, Pastor Jeff. Here we're talking about the power of prayer, because God answers prayer. And you and I, as believers in Jesus, we have an open door to the throne room of heaven. And that makes a difference in every aspect of our lives because prayer can do whatever God can do, and God can do anything. And so as we pray and as we get in on what God wants to do in our lives, we pray according to the will of God, because the will of God for your life is what you would want for yourself if you had sense enough to want it. And, the will of God, the Bible tells us in Romans 12:2 is that which is good and acceptable and perfect. It's tailor made to us. That doesn't mean everything in life is going to be, sweet and wonderful. Life is not all sweet and wonderful. Adrian Rogers used to say, don't get the idea that life is all honey and no bees. There are, stings in life. Man who is born of woman is short lived and full of trouble. As we said yesterday, there are difficulties in life, but, we put those in the joy column. James, chapter one. Consider it all joy. My brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And God allows us to go through fiery trials for the purpose of testing us, for the purpose of strengthening us. Think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they went through the fiery trial in Daniel chapter three and actually were in the fire. What did the fire burn? It just burned the ropes that tied their hands. It, didn't burn anything else. There wasn't even the smell of smoke on their clothes. And so every difficulty that you go through is just an opportunity for God to show his power. And, let's face it, you know, we tend not to do very well when everything is going, great in our lives. We tend to draw near to God when the bottom drops out. That's when we really need the Lord. That's when our prayer life, ratchets up several notches. That's when we really start to say, oh, God, I, need you so desperately. When everything is going well, we have a tendency to put God on the back burner. Deuteronomy, chapter 17. The, Lord, or Deuteronomy, chapter 11. The Lord says, hey, don't forget me, when you go into the land, and don't forget it's Deuteronomy, chapter eight. and everything is coming up roses for you. Then beware that you do not forget the Lord your God, by not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. Otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and, have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Hey, are you going through difficulty today? It's an opportunity to pray. It's an opportunity to see God move and work in your life. And It's God's way of saying, listen, get your eyes back on me. You don't have this thing figured out. You are weak. as the song says, I am weak, but you are strong. Jesus, keep me from all wrong. Well, we're going to the phone lines. 888-589-8840. That's 888-589-8840. And if you have a question, a comment, if you have a prayer, a brief prayer testimony that can encourage somebody else to say, yes, this is why we pray, because God longs to answer prayer. I'd love to hear from you. So give me a call. And we have Robin on the line from Virginia. Robin, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Thank you, Pastor Schrieve, so much, and, I hope you can hear me. Okay. But like you, you mentioned earlier, getting really nervous when you were a kid.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes.
Caroline: Sometimes I feel like the Lord leads me to call in, when I least expect it. And so I really, really wanted to thank you for the topic today. You're sharing that your natural personality growing up like your own family is surprised you're getting up and giving sermons. Right. we all know how crazy things have gotten upside down and, you know, inside out around the world in our nation, even if it comes to your own family members or friends and circles around us that they've got things they're going to surgery for, they've got job changes, they're looking for places to live, things aren't working out. You know, part of what I've realized, and this is why I wanted to say my testimony about, prayer is that sometimes we forget how much God wants to use the time of prayer to change us and our heart. Sorry.
Peter Rosenberger: Right.
Caroline: And get through this. So if I feel like we all need to wake up as Christians and be like, come on, the world's falling apart. You know, the Lord, like, onward, Christian soldiers. We need to be out there and being like you say, shining your light. Shine and share. Sometimes I realize I feel weak or not able. And I, too, was a shy person growing up. And I feel like part of what we forget, maybe, or maybe it's just me about hooking up every day in prayer, just talking to God through the Holy Spirit, talking to Jesus and thanking him, is that we forget how much he can be changing us in the process and encouraging us and reminding us of how much he loves us. And that helps us feel more solid and confident and like, we can take up the armor. So just two days ago, I was feeling in a place Like God, I don't feel you, you know, and I'm sorry to get emotional, guys. I know you've got a family that listens, and I'll make through this, but if I could read a few lines as to what God gave me. It was a prayer to God and it, was encouraging to me. So can I share it real quick?
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Sure.
Caroline: Okay. God, you are the spring in my step, the spark in my heart, the song in my spirit, the brush in my art, the peace in my pace, the joy in my laughter, the truth I thirst for, the light in my face, the drive in my curiosity, the motivation in things I've begun, the anchor in my security, the air in my lungs, the beat in my bandwidth, the promise in my purpose, the sunrise in my sadness, the dawn in my sorrow, the hope in my tomorrow, the plenty in my lack, the steps in my journey, the grooves in my track, the staff in my wanderings, the breeze at my back leading me on As I live, may I never forget how you forgive as you whisper your love in my heart and in my ear that you are always, always near.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: That's good, Robin. That's really good. What a great poem.
Caroline: We're going to God and sometimes just asking for things to happen and change in the world, that he just wants us to spend time with him. And in the process, he can strengthen us and give us all these things that he's a part of everything in the world, every molecule, every moment, a little bird, a bug, whatever it is that will make you think, wow, how did that happen? Because God is so awesome. So thank you so much for letting me share.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes, Robin, well, thank you for calling in and doing that. You're exactly right. So as we pray. And, why does God give us problems? To get us to look to him and to call upon him. Because we all have a tendency, when everything is going well, to not do that. and we need him, and we forget how much we need him. in his presence is fullness of joy, and in his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. So I appreciate the call. Well, we have, Lee on the line from Texas. Lee, welcome to Real truth for today.
Caroline: Yes, I'd like to talk about the race between Ken Paxton and James Pillarigo. Now, it's known that James Pillarigo does want to tax corporations and the rich. And as far as Ken Paxton, he's aligned with Donald Trump, which is good, because in the big, beautiful bill is that one tax cut. Well, there's three of them, but the one I want to talk about is the tax cut on overtime. And millions of people in the state of Texas work overtime. Now, the tax structure that's on overtime is a little bit complicated to understand, but there is the savings and there is the rebate at the end of the year. And, one of the things I look to do is to figure it out better. But the One thing about 10 Paxts and voting for 10 packs, and I believe that he's, going to be able to give us a better deal on the three tax cuts because we all have to realize that, though they're in the big beautiful bill, they're going to go away in 2028. And if we, and if, Puerto Rico gets into office, he's going to be part of getting rid of it. So many people that work overtime are going to lose on that initiative. So if your thought is that, you know what, I'm going to stay out of the voting this year because of whatever social problems. They both got baggage. You got to decide which one is more, capable of repentance. yeah, compassion is more, more capable of repenting and going in the right direction. He is doing a great job. He did a great job at HD for Texas, as far as I'm concerned. to me, he's the pit bull of Texas.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes, he's, he's fought for a lot of good things. I have a clip of Ted Cruz. He was with, Caitlin Collins of cnn, and they were talking about between James Talarico and Ken Paxton. This is what Senator Ted Cruz had to say.
Caroline: Who will Republicans have to blame if Republicans lose Texas?
Steve Jordahl: Oh, listen, we have a real race in Texas, but, you know, we have a real race in most states across the country. It's a midterm.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: But Texas is Texas.
Steve Jordahl: I am fully aware of this. But you know what? Texas, like other states, we got a bunch of liberals in Texas now. We have more conservatives and more common sense Texans than we have liberals. But the liberals are really ticked off and they're energized. And I'll tell you, if you look at this race, James Talarico, I think is a dangerous candidate. I think substantively he is radical and extreme, but he's very good at seeming charming. He's very good at seeming innocuous. Personally, I prefer my wolves in wolves clothing, not in sheep's clothing. Here's why I think Ken Paxton is going to win, because Talarico's record is fundamentally out of step with where the people of Texans, Texas are. When James Talarico Says God is non binary. When he says there are six different genders. When he says we should have a welcome mat on our southern border, Those are not the values of Texans. When he says we want to end
Pastor Jeff Schreve: oil and gas, does Ken Paxton have the value of Texans?
Steve Jordahl: Ken Paxton is in a lot of
Caroline: trouble on his own camp, by his
Pastor Jeff Schreve: own aides who've worked for him, turned him into the FBI.
Steve Jordahl: Basically, he's fighting for policies that most Texans agree with. Low taxes, low regulations, lots of jobs, securing the border, supporting law enforcement. Those are the policies that Texans agree with. And at the end of the day, this race is not about whether you personally like one candidate or the other. This race is about in Texas, what policies are good for 32 million Texans. And the policies of James Talarico. Look, Comrade Mamdani knows exactly who Talarico is when he says he to. Wants. Wants to dismantle capitalism. so. So does Abdul Al Sayed. He is a fellow traveler with the dsa, Radicals in the Democrat Party. Look, James Talarico is someone who. Who's who. Who ran a vegan campaign because he believes meat is destroying the world. Now, that would be a great campaign in Berkeley, California.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: But that was, Ted Cruz talking to Caitlin Collins. And, yeah, if you get into the, the personal lives of, the candidates, and, hey, we're going to go through every part of your life and to see if you could be our pastor. Well, he's not going to be your pastor. if James Tallarico was your pastor, your church would be, on the doorstep of hell. I mean, his theology is so warped and liberal and wrong, the things that he says. But it's the policies that we're looking at. Who's going to stand up for the policies that help Texans? And I agree with Ted Cruz. It's Ken Paxton. It's not James Talarico. So I appreciate that. Lee. Thanks for calling in with that. We have our friend Linda on the line from Texas. Linda, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Oh, thank you. Oh, I could just. You listen to all these, these testimonies, and it's like, oh, my goodness gracious. It's just beautiful. okay, I calling. It's very unique that you're talking about prayer this Wednesday and for the nation and all. Each Wednesday, three of us women gather together, all morning, to pray for our nation and worship. And this is what I wrote down here. Let us pray for our nation and other nations. And he guides us. We ask his guidance on prayer time. We also include Worship. We use his Word always. And this is the word I want to share that, I think is so beautiful. Hebrews 4:16. Let us then fearlessly, confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace, the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners, that we may receive mercy for our failures and find grace in time, in good time, for every need. Appropriate help and well timed help just when we need it. And I just. And that's what we do. We pray. But I want to give a testimony real quick because, two Fridays ago I was out. I get out very early in the morning, feed the birds and, and water them and everything. And, I have a brick patio, you know, that I go out and get out the gate anyway. So, this little cat cut between my legs, okay? And because I didn't want to hurt the cat, I picked up, you know, my foot, I fell on a brick patio. No, I had no defense. Smack on my head, sir. And I had to crawl to the gate to just pick myself up. And I am. Everybody agrees with me. I'm a mere.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Amen. Amen. I'm sorry, Linda, we were out of time. But I appreciate that testimony. Appreciate you calling in and listen. We can pray. Let me encourage you. Pray. Acts, chapter 4, verse 29. And now, Lord, take note of their threats and grant that your bond servants may speak your word with confidence while you extend your hand to he heal. And signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. God bless.
Peter Rosenberger: 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. It is Wednesday, September 9th. Hope you're having a, a great morning. I have a question for you. As we begin today. What is the easiest thing for you to do in the Christian life? Think about that. The easiest thing to do in the Christian life. Now think about this question. What is the hardest thing to do in the Christian life? Now, I contend that the easiest thing to do and the hardest thing to do are, ah, the same thing. It is praying. Praying is the easiest thing to do. You don't have to have a seminary degree to pray. You don't have to have any, credentials to pray. You don't even have to know that much about the Bible to pray. A, little child talks to his loving father. That's an easy thing to do. But yet it's the hardest thing to do. Because the devil knows that there's power in prayer and the devil doesn't want us to pray, so he causes us to have difficulty to pray. Think about the hardest thing to do. ah. Would it be easier for you to read the Bible for 30 minutes or to pray for 30 minutes? I think for most of us we would say, well, praying for 30 minutes, I run out of things to say. I remember when I was a young Christian and I was in a discipleship group my freshman year in college at the University of Texas in Austin. And I was in this group with four or five other guys and our discipleship leader. And at the end of our time together, we Met once a week for about an hour and a half. We would have prayer, and we would go around, the room and pray and pray out loud. And, man, I was nervous. I was one of the younger Christians in there. it was difficult because I didn't know what to say. And, you, know, if you were toward the end of the line, it's like, okay, everything has been prayed for. What do I pray for? I don't know what to pray for. I guess nobody has prayed for the Albanians. I'll pray for them. I mean, it's one of those things. You're just trying to come up with something. And, I remember telling my discipleship leader, I said, you know, I really get uncomfortable when you ask us to pray out loud because I don't do it near as well as these other guys do. And he told me, he said, well, Jeff, I like to hear you pray like you do. because I'm not very good. My prayers were very short. He said, I like to hear you pray because these other guys grew up in church and they know how to pray. In terms of how to fill up airspace. He said, you don't know how to pray, so you just pray from your heart. And all your prayers are very sincere and very genuine, and they're not flowery and they're not using church language. And so he says, you pray from the heart, and I like that. He said, God likes that. And God likes it when we pray from the heart. It's easy in one sense to pray from the heart and just tell the Lord, Pour out your heart to the Lord. Tell the Lord what you're struggling with, what you're frustrated with, what you're fearful of, what you have going on in your life, what's coming up that has you nervous and afraid. you can tell the Lord, you know, what you're. What you're excited about. You can tell the Lord what, you know, this good thing happened to you. You. You share with God. Prayer is sharing with your best friend, the friend that sticks closer than a brother. Sharing with your best friend, your day. And, it's best to start your day off praying and saying, lord, here's my day. Here's what I have going on, and I need you. I love Psalm 116. The Psalmist says this. I love the Lord. Why? Because he hears my voice and my supplications. Because he has inclined his ear to me. Therefore I shall call upon him as long as I live. God has inclined his ear to his children. He has invited us to come before the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace to help in time of need. We are so very foolish by not taking advantage of the opportunity that we have the privilege that we have to come before the Lord and to bring our needs before him and to call upon his name. Now, I have been reading through the book, the complete works of E.M. bounds on prayer. E.M. bounds was a pastor, and he wrote, many, many books on prayer. This is all his volumes on prayer. They're kind of short little devotionals. But this book is, about 570 pages as it puts all his volumes together. And this morning I was reading about answered prayer. And there was a portion in here that was just, very convict, but, encouraging at the same time. Convicting. also, he says this. If all unanswered prayers were dumped into the ocean, they would come very near, filling it to the top. Child of God, can you pray? Are your prayers answered? If not, why not? Answered prayer is the proof of your real praying. He goes on to make the case, that, listen, we don't get points for just, going through the motions of prayer. Now, prayer has two main purposes. The first purpose is to draw us near to God so that we would spend time and marinate in his presence. You know, prayer is not just coming before the Lord with a long laundry list. I want you to do this for me, and that for me, and the other for me. I mean, we forget God is the master, we're the slave. the slave doesn't tell his master, what he needs to do. The slave receives from the master what the master wants the slave to do. But we can make requests to the master, who is the king, who is also our Father and a friend that sticks closer than a brother. So prayer is us coming before the Lord to spend time in his presence. The Bible says in Psalm 16, in your presence is fullness of joy, and in your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Just to be in the presence of the Lord. What a blessing. But it's also to bring our needs before him. rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice. Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing. Philippians 4. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds. In Christ Jesus. One of the things that we receive from the Lord when we come before him. Is we receive that peace that we have brought our request to him. And, God has inclined his ear to us. And God is a God who answers prayer. Come to me. what does he say, Jeremiah? 33, 3. Call to me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know. Now, I've been preaching through numbers, going, hitting the high points in the book of numbers on Sunday morning here at First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. And, one of the things that strikes, me as I read through numbers is how many times Moses, the man of God, when he is confronted by the people, you know, they're always upset with him. Always upset with the leader. Grumbling, griping, complaining. Hey, I get it. Life is hard wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years. The wilderness, as I've told the church, is not. Don't think of Robin Hood and the Sherwood Forrest. The wilderness is rocks and sand. It's the desert. It's difficult out there. And the people, get upset. They get frustrated. They're hot. People are dying like crazy because when they were supposed to go into the promised land, they didn't go into the promised land. And there's lots of grumbling and lots of griping and lots of complaining. And although they are eating the bread of, heaven, the bread of angels, as God brought the manna, day by day by day, they get sick of eating manna. Because, when you have manna for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 40 years, that can be pretty difficult. They say in numbers, 21. We loathe this miserable food. All there is is this manna. And I'm so sick of it. And you said we were going to a land that flows with milk and honey. This is not it. Well, they would have, had they not disbelieved God. They would have gone in, very soon after crossing the Red Sea and getting the Ten Commandments is about 13 months. They would have gone into the promised land, but they didn't. And so here's the thing about Moses. When the people come up against him, he always responds the same way. He falls on his face when they're upset with him. We want to go back to Egypt. Let's appoint a leader to go back to Egypt. Then Moses fell on his face. He and Eryn would fall on their face in prayer, and they'd bring that problem to God. Now, these are big problems. You know, when the people. He's got a lot of people, probably two to two and a half million people that he's leading. And, they are rebellious group, calling this series that I'm preaching unbelieving believers. And so it's hard to know. You read about them. It's like these people really have they put their faith and trust in God, because it sure doesn't sound like it. And, as a group, they did. But individually, many of them weren't true believers. But Moses responded to the difficulties always the same way by calling on the Lord. You know, it has been said, and this is so true, we can do more than pray after we pray, but we can't do more than pray before we pray. And a lack of prayer. This is convicting, but it's really true. A lack of prayer reveals a lack of humility. Moses is a great prayer warrior. He's a great model, for prayer. He's a great intercessor. God in more than one occasion said Moses, I'm going to get out of the way. I'm going to wipe all these people out. And Moses interceded for the people, Lord, don't do that. And he's, a picture, ah, Old Testament picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a mediator between God and men. And Moses prayed, and Moses was humble. The Bible says in numbers, chapter 12, he was the most humble man on the face of the earth. Humility shows us, hey, I'm a nothing, nobody. I can't do this without the Lord. And so, when we're humble, we pray. When we're humble, we see we're not able. When we're humble, we say, oh, God, I need you. When you're prideful, you say, I can handle this on my own. You know, there are a lot of guys, I'm not one of them, but a lot of guys who have, the gift of Gabriel and they can just kind of go off the cuff and come up with a sermon on the spot. And, guys like that that are very, very gifted in speaking, there's a tendency there to trust in that gift. You don't ever want to trust in your gift. You always want to trust in the Lord. And I think God has gifted me to preach and to teach. But that doesn't come from anything in, my flesh because in my. I don't, feel adequate, not one little bit. When I had to give book, oral book report or something like that in school, I would have rather taken a zero. I never wanted to do that. I didn't want to get up and speak, before a crowd because that just scared me. To death. So it's just like the Lord, to take a guy like that as he took Moses. Moses said, lord, you got the wrong guy. I'm not a good speaker. you know, get somebody else. Here I am, Lord. Send Eryn, send anybody else. I was kind of like that. Well, God, how can I do this? Because, I don't like to speak in front of people. I get nervous if I speak in front of seven, or eight people. And even, even today, you know, my family, my, my mom and my brothers and sisters, they'll marvel at, at what I do, getting up to preach. Because they say that that is not like you. that is not, the Jeff we knew growing up. You were shy, and I am naturally shy by nature. But the Lord called me and the Lord has equipped me and I recognize I desperately need him. Apart from you, Jesus, I can do nothing. But with you, I can do all things. So we're talking about the power of prayer now. We're going to shift it, as we move into this next segment after the break, to the fact that Christians can make a huge difference in our country as we pray. Because God is the God who hears our prayers. God is the God who answers our prayers. And if our prayers aren't being answered, why is that? We'll be right back.
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Caroline: When I saw my baby and when
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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 Schrieve.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program. We're talking about the power of prayer. As I read to you from the book the complete works of E.M. bounds on prayer. He says, answered prayer is the proof of your real praying. Are, your prayers being answered? If not, why not? God longs to answer prayer. Call to me, and I will answer you. Now we can pray, and the Lord can say, no. Moses, this great man of prayer, he asked God to reconsider about letting him into the promised land. And the Lord said, enough. speak to me no more about this. You're, not going in. I already told you you weren't going in. Drop it. And so sometimes God says no. Sometimes God says, wait. Sometimes God says, yes, and he does that. Or God may say, wait, it's not the right time. Or he says, I have something better in mind. And so he takes our prayers and he redirects them, and, he answers them in a better way. So we pray from our heart, and we pray, hopefully prayerfully. we pray from a heart that is conditioned by the scripture. And I found, too, that the best prayers are praying God's word back to Him. Now, not just, mindless, reading of the Word back to God, but claiming those things and saying, God, you said that, if I lack wisdom, James 1:5, that I can ask of you, and you will give me wisdom. And so, Lord, I need wisdom to know what to do in this situation. Wisdom is seeing life from God's perspective. If you have a choice to make about a job, maybe you have, the job you currently have, and somebody is offering you another job, but that's in another city. You don't know, should I do this or not do this. And, you can, you know, go back and forth in your mind, say, lord, give me wisdom. Show me what I'm supposed to do here. And I. I'm looking to you for this, and I'm claiming your word. You said that you would show me. You said that you would give me wisdom. And so I need that God loves it when we pray his word back to him. So let's think about this, this power of prayer. Let's think about it as it relates to our country. Now, you have, as I mentioned yesterday, we have two political parties in America, that are viable parties. You know, it's either either a Republican's going to win or a Democrat's going to win. That's the way it's been for a long, long time. And, I don't see it changing, not in the near future. So as we think about who has the best plan and the best program for America, well, obviously not the radicals, those who want to fundamentally change America fundamentally change the Constitution, want to turn us into a socialistic, nation, which socialism always leads to full, blown communism. The DSA has said that what is our goal? It's communism. So socialism is just a stepping stone to get to communism. Communism is disaster. It's disaster for the masses. If you and I, as believers, if we care about people, greatest commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Second greatest commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments, Jesus said, hang the whole law and the prophets. So if we love God and love people, we don't want to see, politics come into being and a, politician get elected who's going to move the country into a socialistic, communistic, direction. Because that would be a disaster for people, and we love people. We don't want to see a politician who is divorced from reality. As the LGBTQIA agenda, is, where they call men women and women men, and you can be whatever you want and woman, is a woman, and just that kind of circular argument and reasoning. What is a woman? Well, a woman is a woman. if you watch Matt Walsh's, video, his movie on what is a woman? That's how that was argued. And it's like, well, that's not an answer. And so, you can't vote, for people that are that divorced from reality, because just like you wouldn't want, your pilot to be somebody divorced from reality. You want that pilot regardless of the color of his skin. You want him to know how to fly a plane, how to land a plane, how to take off, and how to land. those things are critical. You want your surgeon to be somebody who is good at doing the surgery. his. His skin color does not play into it. And so we look at situations that are facing our country today with these midterms coming up, and we say, well, what is a Christian to do? Ah, as I said yesterday, hey, your vote matters, and you need to be informed. Ivoterguide.com from American Family association, you can go to that website and you can find out, what is at stake, what does this candidate believe, what that candidate believe, and then vote for the candidates that are going to be more closely aligned with, the Bible than, those that are going to be, far away from the Bible and moving further away from the Bible. Now, in Texas, we have a big race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico. And people, are upset because Ken Paxton just dropped a new Ad that is AI generated, that takes statements from James Talarico and, puts them together in a commercial. And, obviously these are not things that James Talarico sat down to, produce. It's AI, but it's AI that's taking his actual statements and putting them in a commercial. Here is the ad.
Speaker F: In the beginning, God was non binary and he wasn't a Christian. And God said, let there be six genders, and there were. Then God so loved the world that he gave us his only son, who was a radical feminist and never asked people to worship him. Look, I always think of myself as a Christian who hates Christianity.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: James Talarico, wrong for Texas.
Speaker F: America is not a Christian nation.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: And wrong for America too.
Reporter: I'm Ken Paxton and I approve this message.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, they don't, Talarico fans don't like that commercial at all. And they said that should be banned. You shouldn't be able to do an AI commercial. But it's all that things that, Talarico has said. And so he would be. I totally agree. He would be bad for Texas. He would be bad for America. I wouldn't vote for that guy to do anything that could affect people's lives. And, you know, the worst kind of delusion is spiritual delusion. That guy, he promotes himself as this seminarian, this guy. I've studied the scripture, blah, blah, blah. They didn't believe any of it. you know, God is non binary. There are six genders. Jesus was a radical feminist. I mean, just insane. He never, told anyone to worship him. Jesus is God. And, you know, this before that, the announcement of Gabriel, Luke, chapter one to Mary, he says that, he had to get permission from Mary to be able to, fulfill that announcement. You're going to bear the Christ child. She had to say, okay, I'm in on this. And there was a question. There was no question. Gabriel didn't ask her a question. Do you want this? He just said this was going to happen. And, every Jewish woman wanted that. That was the longing of their heart, that they could be the mother of the Christ child, the deliver of Israel. I mean, that was the, dream and the desire and for God to choose Mary. Little, old Mary from grease spot town known as Nazareth. That was unheard of. But God is the God who sees the little things. it says in Genesis, chapter 16, God is el Roi. That's what Hagar called him. You are the God who sees me and God sees us. And so as we Think about prayer. Well, we need to be praying for our country. Now those in Texas, especially if you live in Dallas, know that there's a big event tonight and tomorrow. I say tonight starts at 3 o', clock, but it's called a Trump, a Palooza. That's what they're calling this rally. And Donald Trump is going to be there tonight, tomorrow night along with a bunch of other people. It's an American Airlines center. It goes from 3:00pm to 9:00pm they're expecting full house, 20,000 for both nights. JD Vance is going to be there. Governor Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, Ken Paxton, Dan Patrick, all the bigwigs from government, especially in Texas government on the Republican side. And they're going to be having a tribute tomorrow night for Charlie Kirk. It's the one year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's murder as he was speaking on that campus in Utah. We have a special program planned for tomorrow where I interview Bill Federer, who is a close personal friend of Charlie Kirk. And then our own Jenna Ellis, who is also a personal friend of Charlie Kirk. And we remember Charlie Kirk. What a great, great young man. He was killed at the age of 31. Truly a Christian martyr. Killed for his faith. Well also at this rally, not only tomorrow night are they going to be remembering Charlie Kirk, but you have two pastors, actually three pastors that are going to be there. Two of them I consider friends. Dr. Jack Graham, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Jack is speaking tonight or actually this afternoon around three to four o', clock, somewhere in that time slot. And then Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, he's going to be speaking about the same time on Thursday around the three to four, time slot. And then pastor, another pastor I'm not familiar with, Lorenzo Sewell, he is from Detroit. He's going to be speaking there. And you know, here's the thing. When you think about, okay, you try and as people tend to do, especially those who are more moderate, more liberal, they tend to try and level the playing field when it comes to voting. Oh, you know, you got good guys on this side of the aisle and good guys on that side of the aisle, bad guys on this side of the aisle, bad guys on that side of the aisle. It's all about the same. And Republicans might be strong on the issue of abortion, but they're weak, as it relates to the poor and the sojourner and all those kinds of things. Just try and level everything out. Listen, not every issue is the same. There are certain issues. I remember talking to David Barton years ago and I asked him a question about, I can't remember now exactly how I worded the question, but his answer was this. He said, you show me how a politician looks at the issue of abortion, just that one issue. And he said, I can tell you how he's going to vote on a number of other issues. Because once you say it's okay to murder an unborn child, that reveals so much out of your heart. And, with the big issues, the Democrats, they get it so wrong. I've said this when Bishop Jackson was on the program on Friday. I can't think of one moral issue that the Democrats get right now. This idea. Well, they're very big in helping the poor and helping the homeless and helping, the poverty stricken and the down and out and the sojourners.
Caroline: Sojourner.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, they want to do that with your money. They don't do that with their own money. You know, when the Bible commands, the people of Israel to support the poor and the sojourner, that's not saying the government does that. That's saying the people do that. And you look at, say, okay, well, these programs that they have in California, I mean, we throw billions of dollars in stamping out poverty and homelessness. How is that working? Well, it's not working at all. We have more, poverty and more homelessness than ever before. You're not making any, dent in it. You're spending all this money and getting nothing for it. The real help you can give a person is to pull him out of the poverty, to pull him out of the homelessness, to help that person who is dirt poor and drug riddled and, living on the street to get him out of that so that he could be a productive. She could be a productive person in society. Not just to provide for them. Here's just some money. And as they do in California, here are drugs. Because we know you're a drug head. So we want to provide you with drugs. I mean, how sick and twisted and perverted is that? So what can we do? We as Christians can pray and we can pray to the God who answers. You know, First Kings 18, not all gods are created equal, if we could use those crude terms. Elijah prayed to the Lord and the prophets of BAAL prayed to the false God baal, the God who answered by fire. He is God. That was the challenge that Elijah threw down on Mount Carmel and he said to the people, how long will you hesitate between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, serve him. If BAAL is God, serve him. And they said, this is what we're going to do. We're going to have a showdown. The God who answers by fire, that is the true God. And the people said, that's a good idea. Let's do that. Well, you know in First Kings 18 that the God who answered by fire was not Baal because Baal is not God. The God who answered the prayer of that one prophet Elijah was Yahweh. And Yahweh answered, and he answered very, quickly, very definitively. And the people, they responded and said, the Lord, he is God. The Lord he is God. And they slew the prophets of BAAL there at the brook. what was it, kid? I'm going off memory here. Keyshawn Kidron, one of those brooks. And, there was a great victory that day. Hey, we can call on the God of the universe, the true God, as believers in Jesus, and we can pray and we can ask God for wisdom and we can get involved and we can make a difference. Well, you're listening to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here. And, when we come back from the break, we'll be taking your calls. 88858. That's 888-589-8840. If you have a question, a comment, a, prayer, testimony, I'd love to hear from you. So give me a call and let's talk.
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: God Speaks. The God who speaks is a 90 minute documentary which can empower Christians to share our faith and defend the authenticity of the Bible. Available at thegodwhospeaks.org or visit stream.aca.net
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Pastor Jeff Schreve: Your Caregiver minute with Peter Rosenberger.
Peter Rosenberger: The things that I discuss here on this program are not exclusive to the Family Caregiver we just have to do it in this particular crucible as caregivers, because the acute, relentless, and sometimes overpowering suffering that we have to witness or participate in as caregivers forces us to ask and answer and deal with these types of questions that we would not normally deal with. The promise the human condition is we are not up to solving the problem. That's God's responsibility, God's job, God's purview, not ours. We are to be good stewards of what he's allowed us to go through, what he's purposed us to go through according to his will, according to his decree.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: This has been your caregiver minute with Peter Rosenberger. Learn more at Pope for the caregiver.com
Reporter: hello, I'm Walker Wildmon. My brother Wesley and I, we're going to be leading a group to Greece in March of 2027. We're going to be traversing and walking the footsteps of Paul, visiting cities like Thessaloniki, Athens, Philippi, Carth, just to name a few, many of the sites that the Apostle Paul walked and taught and preached and converted over unbelievers to Christianity as part of our early church history. And then right after that trip, my parents, Tim and Allison, they're going to be leading a group to Italy, looking at a lot of the rich, Italian history along with, the history of the early church there. In Italy, they're going to be visiting the cities of Venice, Rome, and Florence, just to name a few. Both of these trips are back to back. You can go on one or Both by visiting tours.aca.net to register. We'll see you in March of 2027. Tours.aca.net to register. Find out all the information and view the itinerary.
: If you'd like to contact Pastor Jeff, email pastorjeffromhishheart.org now back to Real Truth for today with Pastor Jeff Schrieve.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program, Pastor Jeff. Here we're talking about the power of prayer, because God answers prayer. And you and I, as believers in Jesus, we have an open door to the throne room of heaven. And that makes a difference in every aspect of our lives because prayer can do whatever God can do, and God can do anything. And so as we pray and as we get in on what God wants to do in our lives, we pray according to the will of God, because the will of God for your life is what you would want for yourself if you had sense enough to want it. And, the will of God, the Bible tells us in Romans 12:2 is that which is good and acceptable and perfect. It's tailor made to us. That doesn't mean everything in life is going to be, sweet and wonderful. Life is not all sweet and wonderful. Adrian Rogers used to say, don't get the idea that life is all honey and no bees. There are, stings in life. Man who is born of woman is short lived and full of trouble. As we said yesterday, there are difficulties in life, but, we put those in the joy column. James, chapter one. Consider it all joy. My brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And God allows us to go through fiery trials for the purpose of testing us, for the purpose of strengthening us. Think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they went through the fiery trial in Daniel chapter three and actually were in the fire. What did the fire burn? It just burned the ropes that tied their hands. It, didn't burn anything else. There wasn't even the smell of smoke on their clothes. And so every difficulty that you go through is just an opportunity for God to show his power. And, let's face it, you know, we tend not to do very well when everything is going, great in our lives. We tend to draw near to God when the bottom drops out. That's when we really need the Lord. That's when our prayer life, ratchets up several notches. That's when we really start to say, oh, God, I, need you so desperately. When everything is going well, we have a tendency to put God on the back burner. Deuteronomy, chapter 17. The, Lord, or Deuteronomy, chapter 11. The Lord says, hey, don't forget me, when you go into the land, and don't forget it's Deuteronomy, chapter eight. and everything is coming up roses for you. Then beware that you do not forget the Lord your God, by not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. Otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and, have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Hey, are you going through difficulty today? It's an opportunity to pray. It's an opportunity to see God move and work in your life. And It's God's way of saying, listen, get your eyes back on me. You don't have this thing figured out. You are weak. as the song says, I am weak, but you are strong. Jesus, keep me from all wrong. Well, we're going to the phone lines. 888-589-8840. That's 888-589-8840. And if you have a question, a comment, if you have a prayer, a brief prayer testimony that can encourage somebody else to say, yes, this is why we pray, because God longs to answer prayer. I'd love to hear from you. So give me a call. And we have Robin on the line from Virginia. Robin, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Thank you, Pastor Schrieve, so much, and, I hope you can hear me. Okay. But like you, you mentioned earlier, getting really nervous when you were a kid.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes.
Caroline: Sometimes I feel like the Lord leads me to call in, when I least expect it. And so I really, really wanted to thank you for the topic today. You're sharing that your natural personality growing up like your own family is surprised you're getting up and giving sermons. Right. we all know how crazy things have gotten upside down and, you know, inside out around the world in our nation, even if it comes to your own family members or friends and circles around us that they've got things they're going to surgery for, they've got job changes, they're looking for places to live, things aren't working out. You know, part of what I've realized, and this is why I wanted to say my testimony about, prayer is that sometimes we forget how much God wants to use the time of prayer to change us and our heart. Sorry.
Peter Rosenberger: Right.
Caroline: And get through this. So if I feel like we all need to wake up as Christians and be like, come on, the world's falling apart. You know, the Lord, like, onward, Christian soldiers. We need to be out there and being like you say, shining your light. Shine and share. Sometimes I realize I feel weak or not able. And I, too, was a shy person growing up. And I feel like part of what we forget, maybe, or maybe it's just me about hooking up every day in prayer, just talking to God through the Holy Spirit, talking to Jesus and thanking him, is that we forget how much he can be changing us in the process and encouraging us and reminding us of how much he loves us. And that helps us feel more solid and confident and like, we can take up the armor. So just two days ago, I was feeling in a place Like God, I don't feel you, you know, and I'm sorry to get emotional, guys. I know you've got a family that listens, and I'll make through this, but if I could read a few lines as to what God gave me. It was a prayer to God and it, was encouraging to me. So can I share it real quick?
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Sure.
Caroline: Okay. God, you are the spring in my step, the spark in my heart, the song in my spirit, the brush in my art, the peace in my pace, the joy in my laughter, the truth I thirst for, the light in my face, the drive in my curiosity, the motivation in things I've begun, the anchor in my security, the air in my lungs, the beat in my bandwidth, the promise in my purpose, the sunrise in my sadness, the dawn in my sorrow, the hope in my tomorrow, the plenty in my lack, the steps in my journey, the grooves in my track, the staff in my wanderings, the breeze at my back leading me on As I live, may I never forget how you forgive as you whisper your love in my heart and in my ear that you are always, always near.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: That's good, Robin. That's really good. What a great poem.
Caroline: We're going to God and sometimes just asking for things to happen and change in the world, that he just wants us to spend time with him. And in the process, he can strengthen us and give us all these things that he's a part of everything in the world, every molecule, every moment, a little bird, a bug, whatever it is that will make you think, wow, how did that happen? Because God is so awesome. So thank you so much for letting me share.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes, Robin, well, thank you for calling in and doing that. You're exactly right. So as we pray. And, why does God give us problems? To get us to look to him and to call upon him. Because we all have a tendency, when everything is going well, to not do that. and we need him, and we forget how much we need him. in his presence is fullness of joy, and in his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. So I appreciate the call. Well, we have, Lee on the line from Texas. Lee, welcome to Real truth for today.
Caroline: Yes, I'd like to talk about the race between Ken Paxton and James Pillarigo. Now, it's known that James Pillarigo does want to tax corporations and the rich. And as far as Ken Paxton, he's aligned with Donald Trump, which is good, because in the big, beautiful bill is that one tax cut. Well, there's three of them, but the one I want to talk about is the tax cut on overtime. And millions of people in the state of Texas work overtime. Now, the tax structure that's on overtime is a little bit complicated to understand, but there is the savings and there is the rebate at the end of the year. And, one of the things I look to do is to figure it out better. But the One thing about 10 Paxts and voting for 10 packs, and I believe that he's, going to be able to give us a better deal on the three tax cuts because we all have to realize that, though they're in the big beautiful bill, they're going to go away in 2028. And if we, and if, Puerto Rico gets into office, he's going to be part of getting rid of it. So many people that work overtime are going to lose on that initiative. So if your thought is that, you know what, I'm going to stay out of the voting this year because of whatever social problems. They both got baggage. You got to decide which one is more, capable of repentance. yeah, compassion is more, more capable of repenting and going in the right direction. He is doing a great job. He did a great job at HD for Texas, as far as I'm concerned. to me, he's the pit bull of Texas.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes, he's, he's fought for a lot of good things. I have a clip of Ted Cruz. He was with, Caitlin Collins of cnn, and they were talking about between James Talarico and Ken Paxton. This is what Senator Ted Cruz had to say.
Caroline: Who will Republicans have to blame if Republicans lose Texas?
Steve Jordahl: Oh, listen, we have a real race in Texas, but, you know, we have a real race in most states across the country. It's a midterm.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: But Texas is Texas.
Steve Jordahl: I am fully aware of this. But you know what? Texas, like other states, we got a bunch of liberals in Texas now. We have more conservatives and more common sense Texans than we have liberals. But the liberals are really ticked off and they're energized. And I'll tell you, if you look at this race, James Talarico, I think is a dangerous candidate. I think substantively he is radical and extreme, but he's very good at seeming charming. He's very good at seeming innocuous. Personally, I prefer my wolves in wolves clothing, not in sheep's clothing. Here's why I think Ken Paxton is going to win, because Talarico's record is fundamentally out of step with where the people of Texans, Texas are. When James Talarico Says God is non binary. When he says there are six different genders. When he says we should have a welcome mat on our southern border, Those are not the values of Texans. When he says we want to end
Pastor Jeff Schreve: oil and gas, does Ken Paxton have the value of Texans?
Steve Jordahl: Ken Paxton is in a lot of
Caroline: trouble on his own camp, by his
Pastor Jeff Schreve: own aides who've worked for him, turned him into the FBI.
Steve Jordahl: Basically, he's fighting for policies that most Texans agree with. Low taxes, low regulations, lots of jobs, securing the border, supporting law enforcement. Those are the policies that Texans agree with. And at the end of the day, this race is not about whether you personally like one candidate or the other. This race is about in Texas, what policies are good for 32 million Texans. And the policies of James Talarico. Look, Comrade Mamdani knows exactly who Talarico is when he says he to. Wants. Wants to dismantle capitalism. so. So does Abdul Al Sayed. He is a fellow traveler with the dsa, Radicals in the Democrat Party. Look, James Talarico is someone who. Who's who. Who ran a vegan campaign because he believes meat is destroying the world. Now, that would be a great campaign in Berkeley, California.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: But that was, Ted Cruz talking to Caitlin Collins. And, yeah, if you get into the, the personal lives of, the candidates, and, hey, we're going to go through every part of your life and to see if you could be our pastor. Well, he's not going to be your pastor. if James Tallarico was your pastor, your church would be, on the doorstep of hell. I mean, his theology is so warped and liberal and wrong, the things that he says. But it's the policies that we're looking at. Who's going to stand up for the policies that help Texans? And I agree with Ted Cruz. It's Ken Paxton. It's not James Talarico. So I appreciate that. Lee. Thanks for calling in with that. We have our friend Linda on the line from Texas. Linda, welcome to Real Truth for today.
Caroline: Oh, thank you. Oh, I could just. You listen to all these, these testimonies, and it's like, oh, my goodness gracious. It's just beautiful. okay, I calling. It's very unique that you're talking about prayer this Wednesday and for the nation and all. Each Wednesday, three of us women gather together, all morning, to pray for our nation and worship. And this is what I wrote down here. Let us pray for our nation and other nations. And he guides us. We ask his guidance on prayer time. We also include Worship. We use his Word always. And this is the word I want to share that, I think is so beautiful. Hebrews 4:16. Let us then fearlessly, confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace, the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners, that we may receive mercy for our failures and find grace in time, in good time, for every need. Appropriate help and well timed help just when we need it. And I just. And that's what we do. We pray. But I want to give a testimony real quick because, two Fridays ago I was out. I get out very early in the morning, feed the birds and, and water them and everything. And, I have a brick patio, you know, that I go out and get out the gate anyway. So, this little cat cut between my legs, okay? And because I didn't want to hurt the cat, I picked up, you know, my foot, I fell on a brick patio. No, I had no defense. Smack on my head, sir. And I had to crawl to the gate to just pick myself up. And I am. Everybody agrees with me. I'm a mere.
Pastor Jeff Schreve: Amen. Amen. I'm sorry, Linda, we were out of time. But I appreciate that testimony. Appreciate you calling in and listen. We can pray. Let me encourage you. Pray. Acts, chapter 4, verse 29. And now, Lord, take note of their threats and grant that your bond servants may speak your word with confidence while you extend your hand to he heal. And signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. God bless.
Peter Rosenberger: Bless you.
Pastor Jeff Schreve explores the power of prayer and the difference it can make in the life of a believer and in the nation. He explains why prayer is both one of the easiest and hardest things Christians do, emphasizing the importance of praying from the heart, seeking God’s will, and trusting Him through difficult circumstances. Pastor Jeff also challenges Christians to pray for America, become informed voters, and stand for biblical truth in the culture. Through the example of Moses and the promises of Scripture, listeners are reminded that God hears, answers, strengthens, and gives hope to those who call upon Him.
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