0:00 - 15:00. Matthew 16:13-18. Jesus is quite clear concerning the destiny of His Church.
15:00 - 31:00. Rick Green, Founder and President of the Patriot Academy and co-host of AFR’s @TheCore, returns to “The Corner.”
31:00 - 48:00. The 250th year has always been a telling moment in a nation’s history. July 4, 2026 is just around the corner. What will become of our nation?
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Hamilton: God has called us to be ambassadors even in this dark moment
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Darkness is not an affirmative force. It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.
>> Rick Green: This is the, Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite, delivering people out of the bondage of mainstream media.
>> Rick Green: And the philosophies of this world.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: God has called you and me to be his ambassadors even in this dark moment. Let's not miss our moment.
>> Rick Green: And now the Hamilton Corner.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Good evening everyone.
Abraham Hamilton: I am broadcasting live from the home of Rick Green
Welcome to the Hamilton Corner. My name is Abraham Hamilton iii, broadcasting live from Constitution City, Texas. I am in the home of Rick Greene, founder and president of the Patriot Academy, also co host of at the Core, heard right here on American Family Radio each day in the afternoon. I am so delighted to be here and to broadcast for you live here. we are here, because I Voter Guide, which is a division of American Family Association, Action afa, Action is having, their meeting, excuse me, here on campus. And so, my wife is involved in some translation things there. She's in studio. So I'm looking over there and so that's why we're here. Man, I am so excited. I have to tell you, being here has been the only word I can use to describe. It has been inspirational, for me. We're planning to have brother Rick Greene in, in a few moments, starting in the second segment to have a conversation with him. the things God is moving in him to do, the vision he has for Patriot Academy, the things that God has moved him to do in the run up to the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, which if, you're unaware, the Declaration of Independence is the birth date of our nation. I have said many times, that the vision, the charter for the United States of America is in fact the Declaration of Independence. Our Constitution is the implementation vehicle for the vision articulated in the Declaration. Great tragedy, has befallen our nation, because there have been efforts to navigate our Constitution, estranged from our Declaration of Independence. And so we're going to get into all of that, as we progress throughout the program today at this very moment, many of you, if not most of you are making your transition from your part time jobs where you generate an income to your full time jobs where you cultivate an outcome.
What goes on in your home is far more important than what happens in White House
And as you do so, I want to remind you, as we do on a daily basis, to do so on, on a daily basis to do so with intentionality, understanding the primacy that God places on family. What goes on in your house is far more important than what goes on in the White House. The purpose of that statement is not to minimize or to denigrate what transpires in the White House, but it's simply to accurately punctuate what goes on in your home. Simply put, you are directly responsible. I am directly responsible for the things that happen in my home. For the things that happen within my control. I am directly responsible for that. And all too often, many people have, so to speak, gaze into the sky, sky, sky concerning what's going on in Washington, Washington, Washington. And we don't even know what's on our teenagers cell phones. That's a problem. That's a huge problem. But by God's grace, you and I will be a part of reversing that. And we take full advantage of the opportunities we get to in our homes, starting in our homes, that we refuse to be manipulated by national headlines, international headlines, but we will live locally, executing our king's commission, starting first in our home and working outward from there. And this just in case you thought I forgot. I haven't forgotten. we still have my man, 100 grand, Mr. Bobby behind the board. But he's not with me here in Constitution City, unfortunately. But he's got to come. You got to come, man. It's quite a sight to be here. and we have produced extraordinaire, often imitated, never duplicated. The real J. Mac is making sure we can bring the video portion of the program to you. As you can see, we're in Rick Green's tavern. We're in the tavern. And he explained to his audience all the time, that the tavern was a place where during our founding era much business was transacted, communication, articulation of the views, for liberty and freedom. And so he'll be here to explain all of that. I am delighted and, and really, it is a privilege and an honor for me to be able to broadcast, from these grounds. I am confident that as we go forward, Constitution City, Texas, home of the Patriot Academy, will be a critical outpost, for the execution of God's will for our land going forward. And so I'm delighted to be here.
Each day we start the program by turning to God's Word
as we do on a daily basis, we are going to now turn to the word of God. If you're new to the program, welcome especially to those in, Des Moines, Iowa. The listening area, KJMC 89.3 FM. that's the newest station added to the AR for our fold. We are glad to have You. But each day we start the program, we do so by turning to God's Word because we want to make sure that our hearts and minds are aligned accordingly with God's Word before we endeavor to navigate the issues of the day. All too often, people attempt to address the issues of the day, by setting God's Word aside, which is, frankly, how we've gotten to where we are as a country. It's like we have, become, the person described in Scripture, the man that's a hearer only of God's Word, but not a doer, forgotten what sort of man he ought to be. But we're going to turn to the Lord's Word.
Matthew, chapter 16, verses 13 through18 is where we're starting today
And, today we're going to start in the gospel recorded by Levi, also known as Matthew, Matthew, chapter 16, verses 13 through 18. Matthew, chapter 16, verses 13 through18 is where we're going to begin the program today. And I'm going to read the text and then kind of dig into it a little bit. And this is what God's Word says here. Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea, Philippi, he was asking his disciples, who do people say the Son of man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, and others Elijah, but still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He, meaning Jesus, said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said to him, blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. But my Father, who is in heaven, I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church. The gates of Hades will not overpower it. this portion of Scripture is profound for a number of reasons. Chief among them, Jesus communicates with clarity no ambiguity whatsoever concerning his articulation of the destiny for what he describes as his church. The gates of hell will not prevail. The gates of Hades will not prevail against his church. In the process of doing so, Jesus, being a wordsmith, refers to Simon, who's almost like a nickname referred to as Petros or rock. And a bit of a wordplay. When Jesus says, flesh, and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven has revealed this, this to you. Notice the term this has translated into English. You. You see the tones and tenses in the Greek, you see it very clearly. Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. And upon this revelation, Peter, I will build my church. Jesus was not saying that Peter was the rock. All throughout Scripture, Jesus is the chief cornerstone from the Hebrew scriptures, the Messianic prophecies of the stone of stumbling. All throughout the New Testament, Jesus is consistently described as a chief cornerstone. The rock that the church of Jesus Christ is built upon is the revelation that he is in fact Messiah. He is in fact the promised Messiah. He is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18. He is Yeshua Hamashiach. Peter is not the rock. He's using wordplay there that, describing Peter Petros. But he said, but on this rock, the revelation that I am Messiah, I will build my church, great misunderstanding, has unfolded, frankly, bad doctrine has unfolded because of a misconstrual of this one portion of Scripture. But the rock is the fact that Yeshua is Messiah. There's no longer any need to look for him, for he has come. We are approaching, the time. And then frankly, it really, really bugs me that we kind of drive by Thanksgiving in terms of celebrations of holidays in our country, even, you know, because of the commerciality concerning, Christmas and all of these things and do not, I mean, sorry, December 25th is not his birthday and all this kind of stuff. the fact is Messiah was incarnated. He is the incarnate Messiah who lived a sinless life, died not for his own sin, but for the sins of humanity. And the reality of the Incarnation has its greatest efficacy in the fact of the resurrection. The Incarnation is what leads to the crucifixion of the spotless Lamb as foreshadowed by the Passover and the spotless Lamb that was, crucified for the sins of the world, entombed, resurrected on the third day as the Scriptures foretold, that the entirety of the gospel, punctuated, or should I said, fulfilled in the resurrection. Well, the Incarnation is a vital component of that. And as we have the wonderful opportunity to celebrate the incarnation of Messiah on our national holiday schedule following Thanksgiving, there should be a seamless flow from Thanksgiving into the worship filled time, where we regard the Holy One in full reverence and awe and appreciation for the Incarnation.
Jesus said the gates of Hades will not prevail against his church
But the destiny that Jesus proclaimed here is very clear. It is unambiguous that the gates of Hades will not prevail against the Lord's church. I've talked before about the reality that gates are defensive structures. They are meant to keep an advancing affirmative force out. It is Hades that is on the defense. But what often we fail to recognize, and y' all know I say it all the time, darkness is not an affirmative force. But it merely reoccupies the space that is vacated by the light. But one of the unique things, I won't say unique things. One of the features, of darkness, however, is it has a good marketing team. And the ubiquity of the darkness is often conflated with the potency of the darkness. But Jesus said the gates of Hades will not prevail against his church. And so what I'm driving towards with this is a simple reminder of the fact that this is what Jesus said. This is not the opinion of some, some talking head on some television network. This is not somebody on talk radio giving their opinion. This is what Jesus said about his church. And I've been saying lately, consistently, we can, if we will, if we would recognize that as Jesus commanded his offspring to execute his commission, he commanded us to do so upon his authority. His authority is the authorizing force for us executing his commission. And it is upon his authority that we advance and expand in the Lord's kingdom, being estab in the hearts and minds of people. And the Lord has blessed us who are citizens of this great nation to inherit a nation to where our founding charter recognizes that man's rights that are inalienable, that inalienability is directly due to them being given to us by the Creator. This is a pre political observation. And with this pre political observation, we can, if we will, if we were to recognize who we are in Christ Jesus and respond to what he called us, to not responding in our own zeal and our own emotion and our own humanistic natural potency. But we respond in humble submission and obedience to what Jesus commanded us. You know, I said previously, regressive, ah, force in our country. Forces in our country tries to wield terms like Christian nationalism to cause the Christian to be afraid in our country, to live according to what we profess to be true, you know, and to try to destabilize an entire swath of members of the Lord's Bride in our nation. And then the Crescent News Network let the cat out of the bag. They had old girl on TV who finally defined what she meant by Christian nationalism. She said, oh, can, can you believe it? These people actually, they believe that rights come from God and not from government. Yeah, kind of like Thomas Jefferson wrote in our declaration. Yeah, kind of like our nation was founded upon and we become so. We've drifted so far away from where we were, where we were formed to be, that you even have people like Senator Tim Kaine in Virginia that'll say, oh, rights don't come from God, rights come from government. And this is a sitting US Senator that was a former candidate for the Vice presidency. I highlight that to show how far afield we've fallen. And for those that would say, well, you know, Abraham, the kingdom of God is established in the hearts and minds of people. Who says that has any relationship to government? And I would simply say very simply, the same God who is described in Acts chapter 17, that he determined the boundaries of our habitations, he determined the times in which we would live. And he did so so that men should seek God. And he expects from us in our day, in the 21st century, in the nation where he's planted us to be and do no less than the Apostle Paul did in his day, that it was the Apostle Paul's knowledge of the civic appellate process as a Roman citizen that led to the Gospel invading the upper echelons of Roman society. It is how we got the concluding salutation of Paul's Epistle to the Philippians when he says, the saints of the Lord Jesus Christ greet you, including those in Caesar's household. Brothers and sisters, we can if we will. God has ordained you and I for this moment. With all of the craziness swirling around us, let's not miss our moment. Jesus said the gates of Hades won't prevail against his church.
>> Rick Green: A discipleship minute with Joseph Parker not.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Being alert, making unwise decisions, moving without a sense of urgency. Any and all of these actions in wartime can literally cause someone to get killed. Psalm 91 is a unique weapon in scripture that addresses many of the perils in life. Using this weapon daily helps us to be prepared for many of the attacks the devil may utilize consistently against us. Our encouragement to you is to pray Psalm M 91 every single day over yourself and over your family. Because remember, in the dangerous, crazy world we live in, no one can protect you like the Lord can. Lord, anoint us afresh with a spirit of grace and mercy that would empower us to be warrior minded believers who are absolutely every day praying Psalm 91, as well as putting other weapons to work fruitfully and wisely. In Jesus name we do pray. Amen.
>> Rick Green: Shining light into the darkness.
Abraham Hamilton III is founder and president of Patriot Academy
This is the Hamilton corner on American Family Radio.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner. Abraham Hamilton III here. I'm delighted. As I've already mentioned, I am in the honorable Rick Green's Tavern. the former Texas state legislate legislator, founder and president of Patriot Academy, also, one half of the at the core hosting dynamic duo. I'm speaking of none other than my brother in Christ, man. A man who I respect and revere. also who we share the same bar. My first bar admission was in Texas, by the way. Yeah. is none other than Rick Greene. We are at. In his studio on his campus that the Lord has entrusted his stewardship. It is a pleasure and an honor. And I've already said it has been such an inspiration to me just to be here. Thank you for allowing us to be here.
>> Rick Green: He's a man. Yeah. Anytime. So I'm glad you came to Patriot Academy and getting to see what we do here and always, glad to be on the program with you.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Oh, man.
>> Rick Green: It just occurred to me, you're the third, and I'm a second, so, you know, because I'm junior.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah.
>> Rick Green: And my son is the third. So, yeah, I was after. So thought about that.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: So.
>> Rick Green: Yeah, my dad likes to think that means he gets to be called Ace.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: That's a new one for me.
Today's show is broadcast live from Constitution City, Texas
Now, I want to start with this because I introduced today's show broadcasting live from Constitution City, Texas. What is Constitution City, Texas? What can the audience here learn about that phenomenon?
>> Rick Green: Yeah, we decided that we wanted to be an actual municipality. We're in an unincorporated area, area of the county. So you can form a new municipality if you have enough people in the. And the geography and everything, and you do everything. Right. and we just thought it'd be cool. First of all, just from a marketing perspective, it sounds cool, right?
>> Abraham Hamilton III: It does.
>> Rick Green: The Constitution in Constitution City, Texas. But also, you know, we've got students that come here year round, and it gives them a chance to participate in city government, to actually do real government, not just to do the legislative, you know, simulations that we do, but actually be a part of serving on the council or in some way just, you know, monitoring or at least figuring out, here's how city government works, here's how you interact with the county and the state, and it's just a really good, practical, applied civics lesson for the people that come here and, our students here. But I just love the idea that once we get Independence hall built, you go to study the Constitution in Independence hall in Constitution City, Texas.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Oh, that's fantastic.
Daniel Horowitz: Independence hall is part of your vision for Texas university
Since you mentioned that, let's talk about that, the vision that you have to really construct, reconstruct, I should say. Independence hall right here in Constitution City, Texas, as part of the vision you have for this place.
>> Rick Green: Yeah. You know, the. The main goal here, we can do it in metal buildings, whatever, you know, is just to bring People here and study and actually get fired up and get equipped and then go back home and be good citizens. Just be good salt and light wherever they live. so we don't have to have something like Independence hall. But that's my favorite room in all of history. I mean, I love Independence hall and being able to step back in time. And I know from experience of taking people there and teaching the Constitution in that room, you just learn more. Whenever you feel like you're reliving history, you pay attention more. You know, there's something about it. And so it's going to be the crown jewel of the campus. And the reason is to give people that chance to step back in time, do some real study and go home inspired to be like the Founding Fathers.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: It's fantastic. While we were here and I mentioned earlier that the, I Voter guide team is having this training session right here. My wife and I were just wandering around the committee rooms.
>> Rick Green: Yes, yes.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: And we stumbled on a class that was actually taking place at the moment. I'm like, oh, babe, we need to be quiet because they're actually in class.
>> Rick Green: No, you should have gone in and taken over and done some teaching. You would have been great, man.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: No, somebody else was teaching and the students are like, you're okay, you're okay. But it's phenomenal what's happening here. Among the things that have been so inspirational to me are simply those young people that we were able to see learning the proper understanding of the Founders Constitution, the proper interaction, between the Declaration of Independence and the Founders Constitution. I've said repeatedly on this program that the vision and mission statement for the nation is the Declaration. That the Constitution is the implementation mechanism, that there's no way we can arrive at proper constitutional interpretation if it's severed from the Declaration of Independence. And here we are now, literally a stone's throw, just a year away from the 250th anniversary.
>> Rick Green: Love it.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Of that declaration.
>> Rick Green: What a neat time to be alive, man. I mean, we, we get to be kind of the, the rebirth of that freedom, right? That, that, that rekindling on the 250th of all of those ideas, everything that you, you just said. I know I shouldn't ask you this on the air, but, you know, actually, you think I get in much trouble with Debbie and I voter if we pulled you out tomorrow for an hour and, and gave you some time with the students? Because I'd love for them to hear from you.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: No, no, I don't, I don't Think so. We have any problem? I have one thing to do at 11 in the morning, but other than I'm doing the devotions in the morning. Okay, then at 11, I have one deal. But I have.
>> Rick Green: Okay, let's talk free reign until the.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Show in the evening again.
>> Rick Green: Okay, good, good, good, good. Because we, because, you know, they, they get to hear from a lot of different people. Had Frank Gaffney here a few weeks ago. He's the center for Security Policy founder and now he's doing some new stuff. But in fact, we're sitting there talking. I got Frank in front of the kids, and I'm asking him about all kinds of stuff. You know, China and the whole meeting with, between Trump and Xi Jinping. And he was saying, you know, this could be Reykjavik. This could be where Reagan and Gorbachev, you know, and Reagan had to say no in order to get to the point. And he's telling these stories. And all of a sudden I realized as the way that he was telling the story, I, I went, wait, Frank, were you at Reykjavik? And he's like, oh, yeah, I was part of the sister, sir, you know, oh, my goodness. We're going to hear from a guy that was in the room, ah, with Reagan and Gorbachev. So anyway, the kids got to hear from Frank and Daniel Horowitz and all these other people. so I would be thrilled if you'd be willing to talk to him for a bit.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: I'd be honored to do so. I'd be honored to do so.
Abe Lincoln: Usually at about 250, great civilizations fall apart
Now, I tossed the question your way because I listened as you addressed the I Voter Guy team this morning, and you made a point that is worth echoing, emphasizing, underscoring and highlighting that 250 years usually are a telling time in any nation's history. What's the significance of 250 years? Historical.
>> Rick Green: And unfortunately, it's usually when you fall apart. It's just kind of that, that cycle, of nations that kind of lines up with the laws of nature and nature's God. It's the nature of man to get lazy when you have freedom and you've had it good and you've had success. And so it's that old meme of tough times make tough, times make good tough men. Tough men make good times, good times make soft men. And then soft men lead you back into tough times. So usually at about 250, great civilizations fall apart. And of course, we saw that in the last 20 years, America was headed just like Robert Bork said 40 years ago, slouching towards Gomorrah, right. We were starting to crumble because we gave up the principles that made us strong in the first place. But we've got a real chance here at a resurgence because there's an interest like never before. And because our Declaration does give us the philosophy. Very easy to understand if we'll teach it. And the Constitution gives us the tools to be able to revive the Republic. And I don't know yet. I'm trying not to be overly optimistic. You know, Abe, I'm a, I'm, a glasses half full guy. And sometimes I'm too optimistic too quickly. So I'm trying to be measured in my analysis. But it feels like right now to me, we're in a revival and enough people are waking up that we have a really good chance instead of falling apart at 250 to actually have a revitalization. And if the Lord tarries, have another 250 years now, I hope he comes back next week. Messes up all my plans. But no man knows the day, right? So we have to do our duty. And, and if when he comes back, be found working and not staring at the clouds and hoping he comes back. So I want to do everything I can to. If it's 250, if he's not, you know, maybe a thousand years before he comes back, I want to make sure I hand my kids and my grandkids a nation that could last another 250 years.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: What are some of those things you mentioned? That, that, that may be indicative of, of a form of, of revival. And then I'll just tell you plainly, if you don't mind. Yeah, just get it out of the way. What are some of the things that, that you recognize as principles in the Declaration that can aid us? charting our course appropriately to not fall prey to what has befallen almost every other nation.
>> Rick Green: That's a great way to do it too. Is, is, is like with the Declaration, we can say, okay, we, we all these truths. Well, we know in Second Thessalonians that if you don't, if you aren't a lover of truth, if you hate truth, then God sends the delusion, and then you end up making a lot of really stupid decisions. Seems like America's made a lot of stupid decisions lately, right? And we definitely see a lot of delusion in the country. Right. So just that part of the deck arts just coming back to say we love, we want truth. We're going to have civil discourse to find that truth. And then we're going to hold on to it. We're going to stand for it. We're going to fight for it. That alone is a great sign of revival. And I think there is a big chunk of that happening in the country right now. I think there's a lot of people that have become. And even this new generation, they're kind of, they're sensitive to being gaslighted. They're sensitive to deception. They want you to be blunt with them and be honest with them. And so that, to me, is a sign of revival. I, think loving liberty and being willing to work hard for it. Like we were joking about this morning, it's not a redistribution or a guarantee of happiness. It's a pursuit of happiness. I think those are signs that we want to be the two servants that really worked hard. They weren't the wicked and slothful servant that just took it for granted or was lazy, but they were willing to go out there and risk. And so all of those things are good signs. But I think I will say there's a danger here in that we do another Jesus revolution kind of revival where we don't do discipleship. You know, get a lot of people walking the aisle, walking the beach and making the. Making the decision. But then we don't disciple all nations and teach them to obey everything that he commanded. So I'm hearing a lot of people, with the same warning right now, which tells me that's a good, healthy sign that we're going into this with eyes wide open and saying, you know, there's a lot of hard work that's required in a revival. If you wanted to be a reformation and see a true Great Awakening, where at the end of the day, people act different and you see a difference in the culture.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah. One time I did a program on one of the. One of the, concerns when you have zealous evangelism without disciple making. Because following the Second Great Awakening, it was the actual genesis of many of the, frankly, cults that we have now. It followed the Second Great Awakening. We had fervent zealous evangelism, but it was not accompanied by discipleship. And you saw all kind of things starting to follow from that. And the simple reality is the whole. Whole adage, what have you, Rod, old Benjamin, from one of your favorite rooms, your favorite room in all of history. A republic, if you can keep it. The founders understood that the structure was put in place, but there had to be another vehicle to cultivate the type of populace to sustain that. And that mechanism, frankly, is disciple making. As John Adams put it, our governmental structure is only adequate for one kind of people. But the kind of people that are needed for our government structure can't be produced by our government.
>> Rick Green: That's right. Oh, that's good, man. Yes. So you don't get moral and religious people from government schools that are void of morals and religion.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: You do not. And in fact, to the, to the delusion you referred to, we have now a juror seated now on the highest court in our land, who publicly stated she was conveniently ignorant of what a woman was. Yeah, yeah. How do you have that right and have something that you sustain that is based and that's enduring upon truth?
We're approaching the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
So, I was stirred by what you shared this morning, and again, you hit a string on my heart when you talked about the Declaration's relationship to the constitution. Approaching the 250th anniversary of that hallowed document. How do you think our nation should approach that, man?
>> Rick Green: more than just celebrations, but we want to have a lot of celebrations. Our goal is 5,000 celebrations on July 4th next year. That's one flight, fourth of the. Of the communities in America that are 500 or more people. But doing that celebration with an understanding of what we're celebrating, even on that day, which I'm hoping, we do a lot more work between now and then.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah.
>> Rick Green: But even on that day, reading through the Declaration, actually having a blown up copy of the Declaration, having everybody come up and sign and pledge their lives, fortunes as sacred honor so that they spend the whole year of the 250th between the, you know, July 4, 2026 and July 4, 2027, actually living this thing out and studying these things. So I think the key is, is, is civic literacy. You know, most all of our problems are biblical and civic ignorance, and they can be solved with biblical or civic literacy. But we have to, we have to teach these things. And, and I think we have a real good, a very good chance at that because so many people are talking about it. We just have to keep hammering at it and keep coming back and give people easy tools to dive in. The technology is going to help with that. The White House is even helping with a lot of this, pushing out a lot of these, you know, education programs with Prager U and with, wall builders and all these different organizations. So the opportunity is there. I think the right energy is there to do it. I guess you could say it this way. The bricks are there for us to rebuild liberty with. And the mortar and the right mindset is There as well. We just got to see if enough people are going to be willing to do the hard work. Because freedom's not easy, right? It takes hard work.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: And I said we can if we will. And the will part has been much of the question.
Rick Greene: Biblical and civic ignorance are increasingly problematic in America
And you mentioned biblical and civic ignorant ignorance, being increasingly problematic. One of the unfortunate realities that biblical and civic ignorance tend to run, tends to move faster than biblical and civic literacy.
>> Rick Green: Yeah, it's harder to.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: And frankly it is, it is harder. But I was talking earlier from Matthew 16, the authority and the potency of the move of God's people, which Jesus said the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it, is that we're not operating merely in humanistic. Humanistic potency, but that we have access to something, even divine. And you asked a question this morning about, evidence of America's founders being Christian. And you shared from memory much of Benjamin Franklin's speech that day. And the context of it is so profound that I'd love for you to share. We have a couple minutes before we hit the break, that he, as the elder 81 year old Ben Franklin, who had already been through Independence hall during the revolutionary area and the Revolutionary War, but now as the Constitution is being drafted, he drew a line of comparison, that highlighted a bit of negligence that had transpired just in that short time between 1776 and 1787. Would you share a little bit about that?
>> Rick Green: Yeah. And I would say to everybody out there listening, if you're over 60, you need to be a Ben Franklin to some young patriots in your life. You need to be willing to remind them of what God has done. Almost a Psalm 78 thing where we're, where we're saying, hey everybody, we need to be reminding the kids and teaching the kids what God did in our.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Nation even for generations yet to be born. Psalm 78 talks about.
>> Rick Green: Yeah, exactly. And for Franklin it was like you said, it's only 11 years, we're talking a decade here. And they had already forgotten what God had done for them. And so he gives this great eloquent speech, quotes 11 Bible verses and wakes everybody up, basically shakes them out of their slumber, says we can't do this without God. And Washington said what was amazing about that moment was they broke, they went to church, they prayed together, and it broke the conflict that was keeping them from being able to reach an agreement and actually come to come to terms. So even to your point about the supernatural side of this and God intervening in this, I believe he will do that if we'll take these steps, he'll do that. But we've got to be willing to step out right now. We've got to be willing to fill this vacuum, where so many people in the church receded from the arena. And if we, if we do that, I think we can be the Franklins, you know, be willing to say, hey, don't forget what God did in our nation. We, we cannot do that. In fact, one of his lines was, have we now forgotten this powerful friend? Do we imagine we can, you know, succeed without his assistance? I know we can't succeed without his, assistance at all. And I believe he's willing. His laws of nature and nature's God say if we call on him, if we follow his laws, the blessings will be on the other side of that. So that's our opportunity here at the 250th.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah. And you pointed out that how Ben Franklin said in that speech, every day in this room, while the bullets are flying.
>> Rick Green: Yeah.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Every day in this room, we cried out to the Lord.
>> Rick Green: And look at all those proclamations they did in that in those early, Continental Congresses, the governors, even the presidents in the first, you know, 50 years of our country. I mean, they were constantly saying, get on your face, man. Prayer, fasting, humiliation is what they called the nation to. These were public acts. These were from official government positions saying to the people, we need to be that moral and religious people.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah. And then during the Constitutional Convention at the early parts of it, he said, we have not even once sought out this divine friend that helped us previously with all of the acts of providence, the. The smog on one day, the ice melting on another day, the lack of vision for the, for the red coats, another day that evidences of divine providence enabling the. The revolutionary founders to be victorious. Then how, then if a sparrow can't fall to the ground without his awareness, how can an empire rise? And it led to a prayer meeting right there in Independence hall. that changed the course of our nation's destiny. And from that came our Constitution. You're listening to the Hamilton Corner. my guest is Rick Green. More from Constitution City, Texas, on the other side of this break.
>> Rick Green: Coming up this weekend on the stand radio, Alex McFarland M&BERT Harper join us to talk about Bible prophecy and the return of Christ. It's hard for me to believe anybody would look at scripture and say God's through with the nation of Israel. It seems to be we're reaching that.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Point in history as the Bible says.
>> Rick Green: That the times of the Gentiles have been fulfilled. Not completely, but we're getting there. The Stand radio Saturdays at 4 and Sundays at 8pm Central on AFR Jerusalem. Oh Jerusalem, how many times I would have taken you under my wings. They had everything that was necessary for them to know Jesus and follow him and they went their way. I think for nations, for individuals, there is a day that you have to make the decision to respond to the Lord and it might be that the door of opportunity after that shuts.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Exploring the word weekdays, 3pm central on AFR.
>> Rick Green: What if healthcare could be more than bills and bureaucracy? What if it could reflect faith, foster community and offer spiritual support? At Redeem Health Share Ministry, the mission goes beyond medical bills. It's about honoring Christ and embracing healthcare that aligns with Christian values. Redeem members share medical expenses through monthly contributions, supporting one another in a Christ centered community. It's not insurance, it's believers helping believers through financial support and prayer. And Redeem Health Share provides freedom for members to select the doctors, hospitals and treatments that are right for them. No networks, no restrictions, just faith driven care. From everyday checkups to unexpected medical emergencies, Redeem offers flexible programs and encouragement rooted in scripture because your health care should reflect your faith, not compromise it. [email protected]. The Hamilton quarter podcast and one minute commentaries are available at afr.net back to the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.
Abraham Hamilton III offers a constitutional defense training course through Patriot Academy
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner. Abraham Hamilton III here with the founder, president, visionary, for Patriot Academy, none other than Rick Greene, also one, half of the dynamic duo that hosts at the core on American Family Radio. one of the things that you offer through the Patriot Academy is a constitutional defense training course. would you just speak to that a little bit to let people know what's available here and then why do you find that to be something that's intrinsic to what you offer through Patriot Academy?
>> Rick Green: Yeah, you know, I became really passionate about this when I got a hold of Proverbs 27:12. A wise person foresees danger and takes precaution. A simpleton or a fool walks blindly on and suffers the consequences. And then put that in the context of our culture today where, you know, there's 6 million violent crimes a year in America and it's getting worse in a lot of our blue cities. And if you're not prepared to defend yourself, then your family will be a victim. And I just, I didn't want my family to be a victim. And, and AB was the God and guns guy in the Legislature. When I was in the Texas legislature, like, I mean, people would joke about that. And I, you know, passed all the gun legislation. I passed all the God legislation. That was just my. My shtick. but I didn't carry my weapon because I wasn't trained. And so even the guy saying, I'm pro second Amendment m. I have my bumper stickers and everything, I wouldn't have been ready. And my son, Trey was only 16. And when he turned 16, somebody invited us to this training. And I was like, well, I grew up on the ranch. I don't need any of that. But, you know, I'll go for him, bro. Three hours into that thing, my eyes were wide open, and I realized I didn't know what I didn't know. And after four days of training, I felt more competent and confident than ever in my life. It really changed the way, I looked, walked, sat, and every. All of it. And, and I just became passionate. So now we've trained 10,000 people through that course, our version of that course. And it's really cool because we combine the Constitution with the physical training. So we want them to understand what the Second Amendment is really all about. Why this is what the founders called the first law of nature, that God designed us to defend and that you could sign away your right to defend, but in the moment when your kid's being threatened, you're going to step up and defend your kid. And so, we combine that. And so you get the physical training, but then you also learn the history of the Second Amendment, why this is important, and also being, intellectually ready, you know, thinking through the moral and ethical questions before you're in the moment. Because if you're having. If you're struggling with that in the moment, let's say you got trained with a. With a weapon, or somebody just goes out and buys a weapon and somebody breaks in their home, and then all of a sudden, they've never really thought about, am I willing to press the trigger and end the life in order to protect the lives that God's put in my responsibility? If you're struggling with that question in the moment, you're gonna end up having that weapon taken away from you and used on you. It's not the time to be thinking about it. So we spend a lot of time going through those mental health, you know, the moral and ethical questions, the mental struggle, that a lot of people have in that. And then even talking about the criminal and civil liability. If you press the trigger, you could very likely be sued by the family of that person. You could very likely have criminal charges against you if, depending on the jurisdiction that you're in and what might happen there. So it's a thorough training so that by the time you come out of those four days, you're no longer questioning those things. And you're very well trained, you're better trained than most law enforcement. Actually by the time you, if you're, finish our four day course, I've had squad officers actually tell me it's the best training they ever had. And so we, we've honestly taken a lot of flack over it. You know, I've lost supporters and donors and, and, and people saying, man, we just don't like the gun stuff or we don't think Christians should do that sort of thing. so we're actually coming out with a book called the Biblical Right of Armed Self Defense and really laying the foundation for that. But I just haven't been willing to give it up because I watched these mass murder events and you know, people walk around, they're able to walk. Crazy people are able to walk around killing people for 5, 6, 10 minutes before the police are able to get there. Because you can't have police everywhere. It's not their fault. It's just the nature of this thing. You need sheepdogs, you need trained good people. It's not enough to have a good guy with a gun, you gotta have a trained good guy with a gun. Or as I like to say, sheepdogs with ponytails. A trained good gal with a gun. Right. And we've seen that, you know, even when Uvalde happened here in Texas, that awful event where the guy killed a lot of kids because the officers waited 77 minutes to go in horrible situation the next day in West Virginia, guy goes into a party, he's going to shoot up a bunch of, you know, kill a bunch of people. Sheepdog with a ponytail takes her weapon out of her purse, and she puts down the threat before he's able to kill any innocent people. I would much rather have that scenario than a scenario where a guy walks around Walmart killing people for 10 minutes before the police can get in there. So I don't mean to be morbid or anything like that, but it's true in our churches too. You know, we've seen these examples. Yeah, and that one here in Texas, White Settlement, perfect example. If you watch that video, there's a good guy without a gun, guys literally serving communion. Yeah, he's killed good guy with a gun, but not trained. He's trying to get his gun out, fumbling around. He's killed trained good guy with a gun from across the room. Guy named Jack Wilson, 72 years old.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: I saw that.
>> Rick Green: Presents his weapon and stops the threat in about 1.8 seconds. It was, it was exactly what we trained people to do.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: It's amazing. And, and I was going to mention that we're now firmly fixed in the era, where the, the same murderous threats are finding churches.
>> Rick Green: Oh yeah.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: And, and people are being made victims in the place that should be the house of prayer.
>> Rick Green: Amen.
How can people find Patriot Academy? How can people support the work
>> Abraham Hamilton III: You know, it's, it's it's really jolting to consider that how can people find Patriot Academy? How can people support the work that you're doing here? You have all kinds of plans, the things you're already doing, the things you want to do to expand. How can people support.
>> Rick Green: Yeah, we're doing, you know, we're, we're, we're teaching young people. That's our flagship. That's really what we started 25 years ago was teaching young people, training them to be good citizens. But now we're teaching people of all ages. We got 30,000 constitution coaches across the country using our constitution classes to do that. Locally we're doing a course on campus, the full one year institute, and then one week programs if people want to just come for a week and get trained. So there's lots and lots of ways for people to train. If you want to donate to the cause, sponsor a student, maybe whatever you want to do. Patriotacademy.com if you want to take one of our classes. We give our constitution classes away for free. Even our handgun defense training and that sort of thing is super cheap compared to what it would cost anywhere else. We do that because it gets subsidized by donors because we just want to train as many people as we possibly can. But all of it.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Patriotacademy.com Guys, I can't, I can't emphasize that enough, for you guys to support this work. it's one thing to hear about and talk about it. This is my first time here. Yeah, it's another thing to put the feet, my feet on the ground here and walk around and to drive around and to see everything that's happening, the cottages that are available for people for the one year program. Guys, this is good soil, this is good ground. And I encourage you, to do what you can to support this work. This is one, I said this in the first second you want to hear in here, then this is one of the places that will be a beachhead against the darkness that is mounting in our country. And, and I've been talking quite a bit on my show lately that we have the, the Marxist Islamist elected in New York City. Yeah, we have, I, think the record is 42 Muslim elected officials this last election cycle were elected across the country. we have Dearborn, Michigan, Hamtramck, Michigan. the Twin Cities area.
>> Rick Green: Yeah.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: combined with additional domestic threats like treating, truth as if it's. Yeah, irrelevant. We, have all of these things mounting. Many in, in view of all of that would say, is it too late? We haven't hit 250 yet. It's 249. But, but the barbarians are at the gate.
>> Rick Green: Yeah.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Is it too late?
>> Rick Green: The wolf is at the door. And in some places, actually in, the house. And, I for one am never going to be one, to lay down and give up no matter what the odds are. I think we do our duty no matter what. And the results to God.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Let's pause on that for a second.
>> Rick Green: Yeah, sure.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Because you're speaking my language. You know, it's, you know, I don't remember the old movie program, kill them all at the paramedics, sort them out kind of thing. But, but really, I mean, I, I'm looking at my wife over here. I got six children. My youngest is three. Will be four this year.
>> Rick Green: Love it.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: I'm, I'm, I'm unwilling to voluntarily seed what God has entrusted to our king.
>> Rick Green: I, I think we have to be like Churchill, man. We're going to fight them on the streets, we're going to fight them on the beaches, fight them in the air, fight them. We're, and frankly, Abe, I think in some areas we're winning. Last year, if we'd had this conversation, I'd have said, hey, they own every major institution in America. We have to start thinking of ourselves as the insurgency. At this point, we're going to have to be willing to, lose a lot of battles and just stay in the fight. And Lord willing, it will turn. But at this moment, a year later, I'm going, man, we got a lot of victories happening right now. Trump's giving us a lot of air cover and getting the Buddha government off our neck. In many ways, it's all temporary, which is why you got to have long term change. Not just temporary, temporary change. But I'm seeing some really good things. And I would say this way Elections are report cards on how well the church is discipling. And if we're discipling, well, the report card comes out better at the election. And then you get policies that reflect the discipleship of the community. Salt and lights actually happening. the chemical reaction of the salt and the meat is actually preserving the meat and then bringing out the best flavor of the meat. So if we'll do the things we were talking about earlier, then I. I do believe we can still win. I'm an. Like I said, I'm an optimistic guy, but I think the data's there now. The data is discouraging. If you just look at a moment in time and say, like, I was talking to Barna earlier today, George Barnum, and you. And you talking to Barn, and you go, man, m. That data's bad. 11 have a worldview. I mean, that's really bad. Right.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: He's downed quite a few people in the corner over, the years as well. He's a friend, and he'll have his back. His guitars in the background. Yes. I was just looking at that while he's dropping a bass line that's not coming from Motown, if you get what I'm.
>> Rick Green: That's good. Oh, man, it's so true. It's so true. But I told George today, I was like, okay, you give me my reality check. And now I know how hard I need to go work.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah.
>> Rick Green: But I think just like the founders, because you were saying it earlier, all those times where God intervened and had. I mean, imagine being Washington, and you're crossing the Delaware to go take on the people that just kicked your tail two months ago. I mean, they just mopped the floor with you. And you're going to do this in a snowstorm. you're going to take on a better force.
M. Judah: I think God's not done with America
It'd be like you and me going and trying to take on the Navy SEALs. I mean, these were the Hessian soldiers that were pros, man. They were the best of the best. and yet he had been on his knees enough to know, I can do this. If God blesses it, then we're going to win. And it turned the whole thing around. And you get to a point where no nation was willing to help. His troops had dropped from 25,000 down to 2,500. I mean, it was bleak. I don't think we're that bleak right now. I think we're in a much better position than Washington was when he did that. So why not do some moves like Washington, and take what is. I Think fertile soil out there where people are hungry and willing to listen, and let's give this thing our best shot, and then it's up to God. You know, I do think God's not done with America. If I'm wrong, then we do the best we can with what we got where we are, and we're good stewards of what we had. But if I'm right, then we have a chance to turn this thing around and not just play defense and stop the slouch towards Gamora. We have a chance to take ground back. We have the chance to win communities back. We have the chance to restore private, private property rights, restore the proper role of government, restore religious liberty in this country. The way the founders, as you and I were talking, this morning, offline. Ah, the way the founders envision it to be. Man, I think we could have some big victories in the next few years.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: We can if we will. We can if we can, if we will. I love that. And, and with, With. With all of that, I don't. I don't think the scripture gives us the wherewithal to employ a humanistic calculus concerning how we think it'll end. To answer the question whether or not we will obey.
>> Rick Green: Obedience is the key. That's it. It's the thing about the servants coming in and, you know, does the master just say, hey, go ahead and enjoy yourself. You worked hard today. Or is it your work's not done yet. Make dinner, do your thing. You know, I mean, that's what we need to be. We need to be joyful in this fight, no matter how many hours a day we got to put into it, and we got to be more willing to put more time into it. I think that's part of the deal. We've had it so easy for so long. You know, this 40 hour a week American, idea, of a dream.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: No.
>> Rick Green: Six days shalt thou labor. We're supposed to be in the fight, providing for our families, defending our families, defending our country, defending our faith. Six days a week out there working hard, and then on that seventh day, working hard, worshiping the Lord.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Yeah. And I mean, rest is only needed for people who are working.
>> Rick Green: Yeah.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: You don't need rest if you live at rest. And I think what you describing, the, the human nature cycle with strong men, weak men, and all of that. One of the. The unspoken, I guess you would say, mortars in that brick, if you will, is when we've been weak, protractedly, we lose muscle memory.
>> Rick Green: Yeah. Yeah.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: We forget what vigor and Rigor and internal capacity to say, you know what? I'm uncomfortable being lazy.
>> Rick Green: Yeah.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: I'm uncomfortable being negligent. I'm uncomfortable being lethargic. we lose some of that. And unfortunately, the only remedy for that, I had a high school basketball coach who said this. This profound proverb, pain stimulates the brain.
>> Rick Green: M. That's good. Yes.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: And I think we're experiencing a bit of that. And to your point, that God has blessed us in our nation with the reprieve. I mean, with this recent, you know, turn of events, President Trump 45 and 47 and all that kind of stuff. And I've been saying it, been beating this drum on my show, that guys, that's a reprieve. We can't misconstrue what a reprieve is. A reprieve is not the promised land. A reprieve is an opportunity to inhale and exhale so you can put your nose to the grindstone in full view of what has transpired. I've been reading my own devotional time. In the book of Ezekiel, when the Lord rebukes the older sister and the younger sister, Ahola and Aholibah, you know, Judah and Israel. And the Lord was even more stringent in rebuking Judah because you watch what happened with Israel.
>> Rick Green: Yeah.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: And then you go to repeat the same thing.
>> Rick Green: Yeah.
Rick Perry: We are now faced with a choice about the promised land
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Like, you are exponentially even more wicked for that phenomenon.
>> Rick Green: So, let me tell this quick, please. We are at that same point where, you know, the reprieve is God's gotten us out of Egypt and he's already performed a miracle for us, and now we're standing on the other side, and the Egyptians have been drowned and we have a choice. Are we now going to go do the hard work of scratching and clawing for every inch of the promised land? Are we going to say, oh, it's too hard, the giants are too big, the fortified cities. And then we get depressed and we all got to die in the wilderness and wait for a new generation to come along. Good. That's the choice we're faced with right now, Rick.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: That's it, man. That's it, guys. That is the choice we're faced with. We can, if we will. we need people who are sober minded. You refer to the sons of Issachar before, who understood the times. That was a time of great tension in Israel.
>> Rick Green: Yeah.
>> Abraham Hamilton III: Saul's house, the house of David. What are we going to do? But they understood what. What needed to be done. And the scripture goes on to explain they had a particular amount of soldiers that were dedicated to fight. Yes, the Issacharian answer was armament preparation to fight. Your description from the Red Sea being parted to being faced with the promised Land in front of of God's people is a great description as to where we are. I pray that the listeners and viewers can hear what God is saying to them beyond our words. And please support the work. Patriotacademy.com patriotacademy.com this is one of the beachheads that I believe God has established for this very moment.
>> Rick Green: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.