Transcript

Hamilton: God has called us to be ambassadors even in this dark moment

>> Barry Maguire: Darkness is not an affirmative force. It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light. This is the, Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio. It should be uncomfortable for a believer

>> Alex McFarland: to live as a hypocrite, delivering people

>> Barry Maguire: out of the bondage of mainstream media and the philosophies of this world. God has called you and me to

>> Alex McFarland: be his ambassadors, even in this dark moment. Let's not miss our moment.

>> Barry Maguire: And now, the, Hamilton Corner.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, good evening, everybody.

Alex McFarland sits in for Abe Hamilton on American Family Radio Network

Alex McFarland here, so honored that you're listening. And I am sitting in for attorney and pastor, broadcaster Abe Hamilton iii. And you know, it's a great honor always to sit in on the American Family Radio Network. My regular show that you may be familiar with is called Exploring the Word. We are heard live five days a week, Monday through Friday, and that's a Bible teaching show. And I have a great privilege whenever attorney, Abe Hamilton asks me to sit in for him. Like, we try to bring guests that we know will inspire you. Incredible stories of what God has done in the lives of great people. And today is just one of those days. I'll introduce a very special friend in just a moment.

Barry Maguire talks about how you can be an ambassador for Jesus

But, in that intro, you might have heard, Abe Hamilton say that we are Christ's ambassadors. Do you know that's really true? In 2nd Corinthians 5:20, God's word says this. In 2nd Corinthians 5:20%, we are therefore Christ ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you, on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. I love how, the old King James renders that. It says, we beseech you in Christ's stead. In other words, if Jesus were here, he would say exactly what I'm saying to you, that God loves you. You can know God personally. And Christ Jesus gave his life that we could be forgiven. And so we're going to talk about this and how, yes, you, dear friend, you can be an ambassador for Jesus. You can be a witness for Christ. I love this subject. And, I'll say this, then I will bring our guest on. When I was 21 and I was a college student and I got saved right away, I was concerned for my buddies at college because as far as I knew, none of them knew the Lord. And that was pretty much true. And I was very shy. I felt very inadequate. But I had to do my best to try and get my friends to respond to the gospel. And little did I know that would be God's, call on my life and to this day, now, more than 35 years later, I really still have one driving priority in my life, that people hear the gospel and be saved. And that's the heartbeat also of my guest, Barry Maguire. we've worked together, and had him on the radio a number of times. He has become a close, personal friend. He, more than anybody I know, I mean, he's like a living Billy Graham in that this man lives and breathes to see people get saved. And when it comes to sharing the gospel, and I don't say this lightly, but he's an expert. I mean, he really is. And he's trained more people in evangelism. He's influenced so many, myself included. He's with us now to talk about the gospel and how God can use our lives to share it.

Barry Maguire says being an introvert forced him to share faith

It's Barry Maguire. Welcome to the show, Barry.

>> Barry Maguire: Thank you, Alex. And I, I had to laugh because I'm, an introvert. I get a kick out of people. I can't share my faith because I don't have the personality. Like he said, go to the road all you who have an outgoing personality. Of course, he didn't say that I was a. I was an introvert. I hid behind my wife, literally, in situations where I didn't know people. And I waited. She never. She's never known a stranger, you know, Karen.

>> Alex McFarland: Sure.

>> Barry Maguire: And once she would start the conversation, I'd pop out and say, I'm her husband, you know. And it was the same thing for me. I felt compelled to share my faith. And it forced me, to start talking to people. Even my business didn't do that. It was sharing my faith that forced me, compelled me to start speaking because I knew that's what God wanted me to do. And it was a, It was forced to begin with. Now it's just the, you know, the joy. The most fun you and I both have is talking to people about Jesus. So, wow. It gets a lot. A whole lot easier. But even if you're an introvert, folks, that's not excuse. And the scripture that comes to mind is that we've been called. We've been justified to God. What's. What's it. We've. We've been,

>> Alex McFarland: Romans 5:1. Justified by faith, we have peace with God.

>> Barry Maguire: Well, I think about, We, What. What's the great verse? I had it. It's the one. We've been, We've been justified to God through Jesus Christ and called to the ministry of. It's not the word justification. What is the word?

>> Alex McFarland: Reconciliation.

>> Barry Maguire: Reconciliation. Yeah. We've been, we're reconcilers. That's what we're called to do. Number one. In fact, that's what the entirety of our life is about after we're saved, is to be reconciled, to reconcile people to God through the ministry and to our understanding of Jesus Christ. What a joy.

>> Alex McFarland: What a joy. And you know, folks, in all sincerity, when Barry says he was an introvert, I really relate. I mean, I have been very introverted, but what brought me out of my shell for God's glory, I just knew the guys, my college friends and all, that they needed Jesus. And I felt like I might be in a position to share Jesus and I couldn't stay silent. do you relate to that bar?

>> Barry Maguire: Exactly, exactly. Nothing else. My business, my own business left me as a, as an introvert. But when I saw people lost and I knew they're probably going to stay lost unless I say something, there may not be anybody in their life. And that's true today. There's so few of us that are sharing our faith and we're surrounded by people who are lost. Like 90% of people around us every day are lost. And they're going to stay lost unless we tell them God loves them and they're not going to church. Their only hope is us.

>> Alex McFarland: Indeed.

Barry McGuire founded Meguiar's Car Wax in 1901

so you mentioned your business and I want to talk about that because you and your wife Karen, have done such a great job at, living for the Lord and committing your work to Christ. And folks, we're talking with Barry McGuire and I'm a car guy, have been since I was a little kid. You know, I would save up 99 cents so I could buy a Hot Wheel car. Well, Meguiar's Car Wax, which is the most renowned name in car wax. I remember Barry down, in rural North Carolina. I bought a 66 Ford for $250 and I went up to the hardware store and I bought a burgundy bottle of Meguiar's Car Wax. I really did. I was 16 years old. if you would tell people about the story of your family business. It's, it's beautiful.

>> Barry Maguire: Well, I am, I'm blessed. I'm not a first generation Christian. It actually goes back multiple generations on both sides of my family. My grandfather, Frank McGuire Jr. Starred Maguire's in 1901. Love the Lord. I actually have a book, I think I showed it to you, Alex,

>>  : on

>> Barry Maguire: deep theology that he's written on every, every page of it. You Know, this is my grandfather, and I knew him as I was a youngster. And he prayed and God led him, into, creating a polish. And he was not a chemist. He was selling furniture polish. And he couldn't find a polish that actually created a perfect finish on black lacquer furniture. So he prayed, God, can you help me with this? And he did. And he was in Evansville, Indiana. And over half of the horses carriage manufacturers were in Indiana, the state of Indiana. They're all painted with black lacquer. As God would lead it without his permission, they started taking his furniture polish and putting it on their carriages. And it became a carriage polish. And one thing led to another. And now, I'm very proud of the fact that any car guy, if you ask them why is McGuire's, ah, car wax, Maguire's M Polish is, so popular. What do they do that nobody else can do? They'll tell you they create a perfect finish on black paint. The very same passion that my granddad had in 1901. Here in 2026, we are living in his legacy and doing exactly what he did then. So I, I've honored my granddad. I'm very proud of that. I can't wait to talk to him in heaven about it. But I've stayed true to the course that God put him on, and it served us pretty well in the area of ministry.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen. Well, listen, I, want to get to evangelism, but I have to tell you this. my wife and to a car show Saturday a week ago, there was, for charity, there was a car show in Greensboro, North Carolina. And we got there and there was, ah, well over 100 cars there, muscle cars and some tea, ah, bucket hot rods and different things. And as we were walking around, all everybody had two or three or four Maguire's products and they were detailing their cars, you know, getting their cars perfect. And I, thought, I know that guy. Look, I know that guy. Anyway, it's pretty cool.

>> Barry Maguire: It is amazing. We are the car guys. Car wax. I focus on car guys from the very beginning, when that term wasn't even a term and retailers paid no attention to us. And now, fact of the matter is, if you're not a car guy, you're not even thinking about waxing your car. Today, car guys consume about 85% of all the car wax. And that has been our focus through the years. The greatest show car, perfect paint, finish. But God's been very good to us in that, that. I mean he'll take anything, folks. He'll take everything and use as your pulpit. I mean, he's taking go figure. I pedal car wax. And it's been my, on a global basis, to proclaim his name, to share him everywhere I go. And the more I've done that, the more he's blessed my business, the more I realize I'm shining for Jesus. I'm not. God doesn't necessarily care about shiny cars. He cares about getting people into heaven. When you use whatever's in place in your hand to get people to Jesus and get them into heaven, then he'll bless whatever is in your hand. I don't care if you're, you're an athlete or a lawyer or a plumber or a housewife, whatever, whatever you do, if you use your place, you're in your mission field right now. If you use it every moment of every day to seize every opportunity to move everybody every day closer to Jesus. It sounds simple. And it is. It really is. And then you end up really kind of praying without ceasing, without even thinking about it, because you're just continually thinking about, about where everybody around you at any given time are in their walk with the Lord. And in most cases, they're lost. And again, folks are going to stay lost unless we speak up and we love them. We don't point out differences, we don't condemn them, we just love them. He said, they'll know you're my disciple by your love. And you said earlier, I don't train anybody. You don't have to be trained to love on people.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, amen.

>> Barry Maguire: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: You know, Matthew 6:33 says, Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things to be added. Everything. that really is the priority, isn't it, for a born again Christian Jesus and walking with the Lord, representing the Lord, that's got to be the priority, isn't?

>> Barry Maguire: Is the priority? It is the priority of life. If we just did what he told us to do, life becomes simple. Fortunately, I have been there for several decades. I don't see it with pride. I'm just saying it's proof that the scripture actually works. I did a podcast last week with Butch. Wilmore Barry is his first name. I liked his name, but he goes by Butch Wilmar. And he was the astronaut that, got trapped in space last year for nine months. He went up for 12 days and he was up there for nine months.

>> Alex McFarland: Goodness.

Church had a lot of faith shares with me on the podcast

>> Barry Maguire: And he, he lives for the Lord. And I actually had a friend connect me with him. And so we spent a couple of days with each other last week and we're immediately one what he was saying. We were just soulmates. And on the podcast we went through that a little bit and I related to a conversation, really an interview I did with a lady in Fresno, California. Church had a lot of faith shares. I was interviewing them and she's my age, very poor, had just gone through heart surgery, but was determined she wanted to come and talk to me on camera about face sharing. And I finally said to her, I think I'm in the way. Could you just look at that camera and share your heart? She says, I'd be glad. Yes, I'll do that. And she talked for about a half an hour. As she talked, I wept because this lady was saying exactly what I've experienced. And I've never told anybody because I don't want to brag, but I haven't had fear, I haven't had any anxiety, I haven't had depression. I've had any of that for years because I just want to honor God. And when you honor God, if you seek ye first the kingdom of God, everything else works. So when you realize it's true.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Barry Maguire: And. And I became bothered almost, why is it that this lady in a decidedly different life than me in Fresno, California was identical with me? Okay.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Barry Maguire: And then I'm talking to Butch Wilmore and as he's talking about no fear and all joy and loving and no matter what happens if he's trapped in space, it's God's edit and it's a joy, joyful time and I just using it.

>> Alex McFarland: Forgive me. We gotta pull out for a quick break. Hold that thought.

American Family Radio celebrates America's 250th birthday with Barry McGuire

Okay, folks, Alex McFarland here. We're talking with our very special guest, Barry McGuire. The joy of the Lord can be yours. Stay tuned.

>>  : America's 250th birthday. It's a great excuse to have some extra cake and ice cream but we can help your celebration go well beyond the that show your patriotism with America. 250 apparel that will become a memento of this special year. We also have special episodes on AFA Stream to help underscore that America is a Christian nation and help you find God in the Constitution. Find all of this and more in one place. Afa.net topics250.

>> Barry Maguire: Shining light into the darkness this is the Hamilton corner on American Family Radio.

Alex McFarland: Barry Maguire is a joyful man

>> Alex McFarland: Welcome back to the American Family radio network. Alex McFarland here, always a privilege to talk with Barry Maguire and frankly, every time Barry and I talk, man, I just feel uplifted for days and days. And, he really, You should be so fortunate, folks, as to get to be friends with Barry McGuire. He is. He and his wife both are the personification of joy. Joy in the Lord. And, listen, it doesn't mean everything's been perfect. in this world, things come along. But when you've got Jesus and you know his word, and, folks, let me just say, you can absolutely depend on the promises of God's word, and we'll talk about that, but you can have joy at all times. Now, some days are good, some days are hard. We, have mountaintops. And if you're like the rest of us folks, life will take you through some. Probably some deep valleys. But when, you know, I think about Jon 10:28. Jesus said that we are in his hands, and Jon 10:28, nothing can pluck us out of his hand. that realization, that confidence, there is joy in that. And my friend Barry McGuire, he is a joyful brother in the Lord.

Barry Maguire: I never lose my joy. I discovered that in 1973

Barry, before the break, you were talking about, a woman you had on your podcast, and. And you had just a great kinship and. And a great joy. continue your story, if you would, brother.

>> Barry Maguire: You know, you don't need me. You. You've got. You and I are so alike. I'm just. I'm just repeating what you say. I'm affirming what you say with your life and with your ministry or your radio ministry. but this is a practical experience, quite frankly. This. This, A black lady grew up very poor, Fresno, California. I'm having her speak to camera, talking about her love for the Lord and how she shares her faith. And as she was sharing, I wept because she was saying what I feel to my core that I've never shared with people because I don't want to offend people or they think I'm a space cadet, but I don't have any fear. I never lose my joy. I trust I have joy every day. Have that. And she was expressing that same thing. And I thought, how is this lady in a. In a decidedly different environment than me speak. Exactly the same feelings, the innermost feelings I have of peace with God. And so I'm. I'm interviewing Butch Wilmore, the astronaut, that was stuck in space for nine months last year. He was going. He went up for 12 days and got stuck for nine months. As he was talking about the piece, he started saying the same things. I thought, it is amazing, the pureness Would we just, would we just do what God tells us to do? It's the very same thing. And it occurred to me that we try to get closer to God. And the closer we get to God, the closer we get to each other. Until I mean, you could be lost in space or you could be this, the lady with no means to speak of old age and a heart problem in Fresno. Or you can Barry Maguire pedal silver scarbox decided these three decidedly different people, all having oneness in Christ and all having this total peace and joy. Jon 15:11 says, when you bear fruit, my joy remain with you and your joy will remain full. You want to have joy every day. I discovered that in 1973. I'm I'm 53 years into having joy. Every day, having no fear, never having a bad day. Bad things happen. I lost my 49 year. This is not academic for me, folks. I lost my 49 year old daughter. The most precious person in the world to be after my wife and a prolific face share. I lost her 49 years of age. I was in the hospital and the doctors gave up for me. I was in icu. They said we can't save you. I had a joint venture partner. I found the next morning they're going to throw me out of my own business. I've seen it. I've faced the devil. I faced trials.

>> Barry Maguire: I'll imagine me with the trials I faced. But I've never lost my joy. You know why? because I live for him. I live for his purpose. And we live for his purpose. Romans 8:28 says that when you live for my. When you love me and live for my purpose, everything works for good, right? Purpose. His purpose is to seek and save the lost. To love your neighbor as yourself. It's so simple, folks. And when that's the driving force of your life every day, it doesn't matter what happens. God uses it for good. And you always have. I mean, if you're not, if you're not in, if you haven't gotten into this yet, you're missing the fun of being a Christian. It's incredible.

Barry and Karen McGuire started praying specifically for joy in 1973

>> Alex McFarland: Barry, let me ask you this, because no doubt many people listening would say, I want that, man, that joy, that confidence, that unshakable trust. I sure wish I had that in my life. so I've got a couple of questions, one of which is this for the Christian listening, Barry. They say, I want that confidence that Barry and Karen McGuire have. How do they move to that place? Barry?

>> Barry Maguire: that's what Started us sharing our faith, quite frankly. 1973, our two little girls were dedicated to the church, to the Lord. We're giving sacrificially of our time, our money, everything. And we had no joy. We were dry. We were actually nipping each other and caring. I started talking about. I said, there's something wrong here. So we started praying specifically for joy. We prayed for God, give us joy. That was the focus of our prayers. And we ended up going to a, luncheon. It was the 50th anniversary of our church. And the speaker was a guy named Herb Ellingwood. He was the legal affairs secretary. I can give my age away now. 1973, he was the legal affairs secretary for Governor Reagan. And I was sat right beside him at the speaker's table, okay, at the head table. And for an hour. I mean, God did this. I didn't even have any responsibilities that day. The pastor put me right beside him, and for an hour straight, he didn't eat his food. He didn't talk to anybody else. He didn't talk about Governor Reagan, Ronald Reagan. He just talked about one story after another, about how much fun he was have sharing his faith. M and I walked away from that encounter in tears. I said, that's the joy I want. There may be some people saying that today, as you just said, that's the joy I want. And we talked and we said, okay, we're going to start doing it today. And we ended up coming up with this term. We move everybody every day closer to Jesus. Not just one a day. Everybody. The world around us is lost. You just start loving on everybody. And you know what? When you do that, he blesses everything else. We ended up being the number one selling car wax because I'm smart, because I'm a great marketer. Oh, are you kidding me? I could not have possibly done that. I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I said, God, I couldn't trust you with my whole heart because I don't have any intelligence. But in the process, when you make that, he says, you know, when they asked him what's the most important thing to do, he said the same thing. He says in Romans 8, 28, he says, which is the most important commandment? Love me with all your heart, mind and soul. And the second is liken unto it the same. If you love me, you'll love your neighbor as yourself. That's everybody around us, folks. Everybody you're with every day. And if you love them as you love yourself, you're as Concerned for their salvation as you are your own. And that changes everything in your life. Your language, your what you look at, what you laugh at. Everything, everything you want to do, everything you do, you want to bring glory to God. You want to, you want them to see Jesus through you. And when you do that, his joy comes in and you have joy even in the worst of your moments. You know, God's there, He's in it. And it's, it's God's promise. It's, it's so simple. And, yet there's the one thing they don't want to. It's the one thing Satan doesn't want you to do. And he puts fear in you. That's his number one tool against you. He puts fear you. Oh, I can't do it. All these a, million reasons why you can't share your faith. We have a place on our website. Most frequent excuses. I don't know. I haven't been traded. And we blow him out of the water. He just said, go and love on people. That's all you have to, folks. It's so simple. It's so simple. Changes everything.

>> Alex McFarland: The voice you're hearing, folks, is Barry McGuire and two websites. Listen, carefully. IgniteAmerica.com and then seeking God.org seeking God.org and people will hear the gospel. I'm going to talk more about those, but while we're at this point, I want to ask you, and thank you for the practical wisdom and your own journey with the Lord.

Love on the people around us. That's what Pentecost is all about

Barry, how, as a Christian, how can a person hear the Holy Spirit more consistently?

>> Barry Maguire: I'm going to knee jerk back. Forgive me, but it's true. When you just live for him, when you do one thing. He's only asked us to do one thing. Love on the people around us. And when we do that, we come close to him and he speaks through us. Let me give you how the idea, this is how it works. Every. I've been doing for 50 years never fails. I love on people. I love. I loved on a waitress last night. She was cantankerous. And I just started joking with her. I got her laughing, you know, and all of a sudden we're having a good time. And all of a sudden, finally it came to tell you, is there something I could pray for you about? And she opened up and she shared and we prayed. At the end, she gave me a hug and I gave her our Seeking God card. We have these cards@guiding God.org, you carry them. You can get them from us free of charge. And I gave that to her and I walked away not just having moved her closer to God, but giving her a pathway to actually praying the sinner's prayer. It's just so easy when you very specifically let me give you a critical verse. You love on somebody, you love on everybody. Everybody's starving for love, so they will open up. When you mention God while you're loving them in a non offensive way, you might say something like, well, that must break God's heart. Or boy, God saved your bacon on that one. That doesn't offend them, but lets them know you're Christian. Once they know that, do you know the world is seeking God right now? The entire world, Everybody wants to know where God is and they don't know who to ask. And all of a sudden, here's this nice person I just met in the line at Starbucks. And they know God and they will open up, folks. I'll guarantee within five minutes they'll open up and they'll tell you something that reveals where they are. Oh, God couldn't possibly love me. Whatever he says, you don't have to prepare for an answer. This is the best part. You don't have to prepare because the Holy Spirit is. Gives you the words to say, this is supernatural. This is where the supernatural. You want to come close for the Holy spirit, trust him. Hm, on this. Luke 12:12 says the Holy Spirit. Luke 12:12, look it up. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say. And when they ask and they reveal something, he'll give you the words to say. He'll give you a scripture you haven't heard in years and you're quoting it verbatim. And at that moment, folks, at that moment, you realize God has you exactly right where he wants you right at that moment. And he's orchestrated that conversation. He's put that conversation together, wherever it might be. It could be on, the street, wherever. And he's giving you the words to say, and the person in front of you is changing in front of your eyes. That's intimacy. That's intimacy with God. And you can have that multiple times every day. It's there for the offing. And when you do that, he takes everything else in your life and makes it work for good.

>> Alex McFarland: Wow, he really does.

>> Barry Maguire: That's what Pentecost is all about.

>> Alex McFarland: You mentioned Luke 12:12. I'm going to read it. Jesus says, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. I've experienced That that's a true promise of God, isn't it?

>> Barry Maguire: It powerful. And you. Yeah, when you know God's speaking. I mean, I felt cartwhax, folks. I'm not an academic. I'm a terrible student. We're not pastor. I'm talking from real life. I'm just a layman that I'm in my 80s. And, and I say, I brag about nothing except that the, the scriptures actually work.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Barry Maguire: They work, live them, through the worst of circumstances. And he's given me joy all the way through because I don't when I'm in the hospital. And they gave up on me. I didn't know if I was going to die or not. I said, God, if I'm going to die, I'm going to die. Trying to lead as many people to you as I possibly can became a game for me. And I began looking, for who's the next person to come through that door. And when I got out of the hospital, I counted 23 different doctors and nurses that I'd ministered to. Not to count all my friends, because they don't expect you to be laughing and having joy when you're dying. They don't expect that.

>> Alex McFarland: That is really true. That is really true. And, you know, in the passing of my, My dad, we were able to share the gospel with several people at the hospital. And you know, literally, my, my wife, my mother, my sister and I, we were in a hospital room. My, My dad, his body was on the bed. He had just passed away. And yeah, I mean, of course we were sad, but my dad was a, born again Christian. I know we'll see him again. And a couple of the, you know, staff at the hospital came in to console us and, But we had joy because we knew he was with the Lord. But I got to say this about, witnessing to people that folks, don't, don't be afraid, don't be apprehensive. And I'll tell you why.

Baron and Karen have been sharing faith every day since 1973

For one thing, God has called us to do this. He's promised to be with us like Luke 12:12. He's promised to give us the words we need. But here's the reality. I've found Barry, and I'd love for you to speak to it. While we're talking about sharing Jesus with somebody, the people we meet probably have been in their heart seeking God and waiting on somebody to talk to Him. I've had this many times when I would try to steer the conversation towards Jesus. People would say, do you know, I've just been thinking about this. in my heart I've said, God, how do I find you? And so, folks, you and I are sharing, but people all around us are seeking.

>> Barry Maguire: Everybody is. We've, been sharing our faith. Karen have been sharing our faith every day since 1973. Okay, so 53 years. it's always been easier than people thought because when I first started I was stressing and I had to have the right words. I get the points down. Finally just stopped all that and just started loving on people. It changed everything. But we've been doing that all these years. It's always been easy. But I gotta tell you, I think I'd almost put it to when Charlie Kirk was killed. It shook the world.

>> Alex McFarland: Hold that thought, folks. When we come back, we're going to talk about our mutual friend Charlie Kirk and what God is doing even in the aftermath of that tragedy. Baron McGuire, our very special guest on AFR tonight. Stay tuned.

American Family Radio is launching an online streaming platform called AFA Stream

We're back after this

>> Ed Vitagliano: presenting AFA stream, an online platform that hosts all AFA produced video content, including documentaries, church curriculum, American family radio shows and our Cultural Institute series.

>> Barry Maguire: I would submit that we are a Christian nation and the proof of that is in our founding documents and in the US Constitution itself. Because our founders recognized for the first time in world history that our rights come from God, our Creator, not our government.

>> Ed Vitagliano: AFA Stream is a vital step that we are taking to fulfill our vision to be a leading organization in biblical worldview training for cultural transformation. You'll find top notch resources that address the issues of our day related to marriage, family, the sanctity of life and many others. Start streaming today. Stream.aca.net.

>> Barry Maguire: The Hamilton Corner podcast and one minute commentaries are available at afr.net back to the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

Alex McFarland: Tomorrow night in North Myrtle Beach is free event

>> Alex McFarland: Welcome back to the program. Alex McFarland here. We're going to resume our conversation with Barry McGuire in just a moment. But if you happen to be hearing this, today is June 19th. Tomorrow is June 20th. If you are in the Mid Atlantic region, tomorrow night, June 20th, we will be in North Myrtle Beach. This is part of our Revive Us tour. We're all over the country. Next month I'll be in Texas, but June 20th, which, if you happen to be near North Myrtle beach, very well known, the Greg Rolls Legacy Theater. We have, rented this venue many times. We've had a lot of great speakers there and we've got a number of events. Tomorrow night, 7pm It's a free event. It's open, the public is invited. We've got, Forever Forgiven, a fantastic praise band. We've got some, custom videos that we are going to show that have never been shown anywhere about the spiritual needs of our nation. Then I'll be giving a message, but there will be open mic, Q and A. And so we would love for you to come. The website is just Alex McFarland.com AlexMcFarland.com and, our very special guest, Barry Maguire. Two websites, take note, if you would, and you will be inspired, you'll be motivated, you'll want to get out there and be a world changer, just like Barry McGuire is. But ignite America.com and then seeking God.org, which, incidentally, if you're trying to witness to somebody, and share Jesus, just refer them to the website seeking God.org. Barry, I always like to say to people, this is a little tagline we use. But I'll say, you know, Jesus is as close by as a prayer. Just if, if you're not even sure, just say, lord Jesus, reveal yourself to me. and I found out people, almost universally people are interested in Jesus really, aren't they?

>> Barry Maguire: absolutely. I. Rich, before the break, I think Charlie Kirk, as tragic as it was, it impacted the whole world.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Barry Maguire: And, the most godless now are interested in God. They're wondering what's going on. They just. And those that seem to be the farthest from God need him the most. And Karen and I, we run to the people that are the ones, you know, those that are hurting the world most, hurt people the most. And I run to people I love wandering people that don't look like me. And they think I'm an old white guy oppressor, you know, they don't know what to do with me. But yes, everybody, you can just presume that everybody around you is looking for God. And I don't care if they just protesting line and shouting, whatever on an individual basis. They just, they just want to know where God is, where is he, what makes sense. And we, we, we have the answer. We carry this pre gift around in the clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's in the book, the message. I love that we have this great opportunity right now. We have the answer. And it's so simple.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Let me encourage everybody for one thing, be willing to make time when these gospel opportunities come right in front of you. And I'll give an example in just a moment. But in your car, folks. Get some Gospel booklets, or some, you know, the Billy Graham ministry has a little booklet called Peace with God. And they'll send you some of these for free. We've given them out in tons of places. Barry has a card on seekinggod.org a little kind of a business card size thing. Don't you, Barry?

>> Barry Maguire: Right. And it's available free of charge. Just go to our website, igniteamerica.com and we'll send you a pack of these cards. They don't promote our ministry. You can't give us money. there's no, there's, you don't, you don't have to tell us who you are when you opt. There is no opt in. There is no passwords. It's just immediate ministry to those you hand this card out to that will lead them to Jesus Christ so effortlessly. It's so much fun. So rather than leaving people in the Lord's, you have these conversations several times a day and you walk away. Rather than leaving them the Lord, you whet their appetite that you give them this card. SeekingGod.org and quite frankly folks, a number of you don't know the Lord yet. And I would encourage you right now, go to seekinggod.org and it'll give you all the scriptural pathway, understanding how much God loves you as much as he's ever loved any. He's never loved anybody more than you. He's never left you. He knows your every thought. He knows what you're going to say before you say it. And he still loves you, has this one desire to spend eternity with Him. Wow. Can you, you believe that? I mean, it's incredible.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. It is. And Barry, I know you would agree the most precious thing in your life will be your relationship with Jesus. Folks, if you're, if you're listening, you think, you know what, are these guys for real? Well, Jesus is for real. And I will tell you, more than money, more than achievements, more than anything you've ever, you know, quested after to know that the Lord Jesus, he loves you. He will never betray you. He is the friend who sticks closer than a brother. for me, I've been a believer about 36 years and Barry, since 1973, the most precious, most cherished, most wonderful thing you'll ever experience is your relationship with Jesus Christ. And like we say, he's as close by as a prayer.

>> Barry Maguire: I would go even further. it is the relationship with God, but the, but the fulfillment, the joy comes when we share our Faith.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Barry Maguire: you might think that he wants to share faith to win the loss. That's secondary, folks. It's actually secondary. His first reason is to reach you, to ignite you, to fill you with joy. If you go to Isaiah 43:10, this powerful message is the only place in the entire Bible I go in, where he says, why? He tells you, from Genesis to Revelation, he tells you to go proclaim the good news. But in Isaiah 43:10, this. Listen to what he says.

In the sharing of your faith, the Holy Spirit is using you

Thus saith the Lord, I appoint you as my witness so that you will believe.

>> Alex McFarland: What?

>> Barry Maguire: So that you will believe. Because in the sharing of your faith, the Holy Spirit is using you and speaking through you, and you have intimacy with God and that ignites your life. In fact, I wrote a book, you might find it. You go on Amazon and it's entitled Ignite youe Life. It's an Amazon bestseller, and it tells 50 years of doing this, and it's blessed my life. It's not really about my life. It's about how my life responded to the promised God. God gives us that when we live for him, he'll make everything in our lives work together for good. And that will ignite your light. If you go to Amazon, look at reviews. You got hundreds of. They're all five star reviews. And they all say, I never shared my faith before, ever. And now I'm sharing my faith every day. And I'm having a ball. I'm having the time of my life doing it. You're missing out, folks. This is what being a Christian is all about.

>> Alex McFarland: You know, I'm going to read that. This is so powerful. we mentioned Luke 12:12, and I would encourage you to ponder on that verse. But this is Isaiah 43:10 that Barry referenced. And God's Word says this. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen. That you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after me. You know, Barry, there's so much in here I have to tell you. I've never heard this before. Right now. That we are his witnesses that we may believe. That's powerful.

>> Barry Maguire: It doesn't say so that you'll believe more. It says, this is how you believe. This is it. This is how you believe. I point you so you will understand and know that I am God. Folks, if you're not doing this, you're missing out on the joy, the relationship, the intimacy with Jesus Christ and having His Holy Spirit speaking through you. This is what life's all about. Indeed.

>> Alex McFarland: Indeed. Hey, I've got to tell you this. I want you to comment on it, just shortly after Covid. So we're talking, you know, about, four or five years ago. But Lifeway did a study of, 22, people that were roughly early 20s to late 30s of people that had no church background whatsoever. And they said 86% said, I would strongly consider going to church if somebody invited me. Invited? Yeah. 86% of people with no church background, quote, they would strongly consider going to a church service if somebody invited them. Now that's almost nine out of ten. I'll take those odds.

>> Barry Maguire: Absolutely. But we should not need jerking to say, well, I'll share my faith by inviting somebody to church. No, no, you minister them immediately. You can't expect somebody 30 minute sermon to get saved. Your job is to lead them, move them closer to Jesus. So when they get to church, they're ready for whatever your pastor has, has to say to them. And by the way, let me just check. Gen zers. I think gen zers are the only hope for America globally. they're so open to truth. They're looking for truth. God is the truth. Jesus, when they understand that he's the truth and they can actually have relationship with truth, with the holy God, and they can have purpose in it. They want purpose. They want to make a difference. They're tired of the hypocrisy and the empty stone sermons and the failings. They're tired of all that. They want truth. And this is truth. This is balanced boat, solid truth. And when they realize that they can actually be used, have purpose every day, sharing their faith, it ignites them. It really does. So the gen zers, man, I'm having a blast as an 83 year old guy talking to gen zers. And they're more receptive than older folk because they want to make it difference. They, they're, they're primed and ready for action. And I think they're the great hope for America. Indeed, indeed.

>> Alex McFarland: They really are. They're spiritually hungry. God is moving. Hey, I got to tell you something. so there, there's a gas station near our house where I go in to get gas quite a bit. And the, the man that runs this convenience store is originally from India. He was a Hindu, but he was not really devout, but he had, you know, the red dot on his forehead. So about two months ago he asked me, he said, what do you do? He said, I see you come and go and you'll be gone a week or two weeks. And I told him that I, you know, was a Christian speaker and so we're talking about that. And I could tell that he was interested. So I gave him a little gospel booklet. And every time I would go in there, I would try to share more. Well, one week ago, my wife and I went on a Saturday night and it was probably about 8:30 or quarter of nine. And I just felt led. And I knew in my heart this was his day.

American Family Radio host Barry McGuire leads young man to Christ

And we went in there, there's like nobody there much. And I said, hey, let's resume our conversation. Well, I asked permission because he was in his workplace, you know, this. But I said, can we talk about the gospel? Well, he prayed to accept Christ, right there in his store. It was fantastic. And we shared some things with him and I gave him a Bible. So I went back just a couple of days ago and, he was so full of joy, gave me a hug. The red dot is gone and he's growing in the Lord. 22 years old. Old to be praised. I thought he was older than that, but. And I thought about you, Barry, because I thought Barry McGuire would try to lead this guy to Christ. And he came to the Lord.

>> Barry Maguire: Oh man. And, and, and what, what has that done for your life? What has that done to you personally?

>> Alex McFarland: Knowing it gives me joy and I give God the glory.

>> Barry Maguire: Absolutely. This is what I mean. you know, I figured out 50 years ago when I get to heaven, it's not going to matter how many bottles of car wax I sold. That is not going to be an issue. I work long and hard. I work 12 hour days for 30 years. Yeah, I did that. But I knew even when I was doing that, that that was temporary. It was all going to go away. I love cars. I'm a car guy. I'm a beach guy. I'm at the beach right now. I have all the normal passions, but I know all of it's going to go away in a moment and perhaps sooner than we can even imagine. Imagine. And then we're in glory. And the only thing that's going to matter, folks, if you're a Christian, the only thing that's going to matter when we're, when we're in heaven is how many people are in heaven because of our influence.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. Amen.

>> Barry Maguire: Think about how many people are there. And Paul said to the Thessalonians, what would be my, my glory, what would be my reward? My crown, when I see Jesus face to face? And then he turns to his people and he says, it's you. Those of you I've led to the Lord will be my glory, my reward, my crown in heaven for eternity. Whoa. So if you haven't done it yet, you got plenty of time left. You get a lot of people in heaven. We're running out of time. We just say, let's get as many people in heaven as we possibly can before we run out of time. And it's, it's, it's like the gun lap. And, when the athletes are running that last lap of the race, and the gun goes off, off, and the camera goes into the front runners, and you can see the sinews, the muscles, the strain, everything they can to win the gold. Folks, that's where we need to be. If you're a Christian, that's where we need to be to do everything we can.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

>> Barry Maguire: Everybody possible into heaven before that trumpet sounds.

>> Alex McFarland: Thank you, Barry McGuire. God bless you, man.

>>  : What.

>> Alex McFarland: What an inspiration you are to so many, myself included. Ignite America. Seeking God.org is the website. and by the way, folks, let me just say this in closing. If you want to make sure that you have Jesus in your life, pray today. Jesus is listening. Jesus is calling you. It's no accident you've heard this radio show. And Jon 6:37, Christ said, the one who comes to me, I will in no way reject. Remember, Jesus is as close by as a prayer. God bless you. Thanks for listening. And tell somebody about Christ. The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.