The Four Stages of a Gospel-Based Moral and Cultural Revolution

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What are the four stages to a gospel-based moral and cultural revolution? It's time for The Line of Fire with your host, biblical scholar and cultural commentator, Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity. Call 866-34-TRUTH to get on the line of fire. And now, here's your host, Dr. Michael Brown.

Oh yeah, I'm dead serious about it. Gospel-based moral and cultural revolution. As surely as I am sitting here broadcasting, as surely as I am your voice of moral sanity and spiritual clarity, I burn on the inside to see a gospel-based radical sweeping change in America. And I believe that we will see it with our own eyes. Oh, America will never be totally Christian before Jesus returns. There's always going to be good and evil back and forth, but as the tide has gone dramatically in one direction, I believe there'll be a shift, but it must be gospel-based. Hey friends, welcome to the broadcast.

This is Michael Brown. You know that the theme of Jesus Revolution has burned in me for many years. It's been a major theme of this broadcast.

It's something that God spoke to me before, putting me on the air. So we'll get back to that. For those new, I'm so glad that you're here. I'm so glad that you're listening and tuning in.

Thrilled to have you as part of our audience. Here's a number to call. If you want to weigh in on today's topic or call me about any subject under the sun, as long as it relates in any way to the line of fire or to me, and as long as it's appropriate for a Christian radio, phone lines are open. 866-348-7884. It can be, I was reading this in the Bible and I have a question, or I think you're a jerk. Either way, if you don't like me or if you want to look to me for wisdom, phone lines are open.

866-344-TRUTH. Why do I talk about revolution? Why not just Reformation? I believe in Reformation.

It's the subtitle to my book, Saving a Sick America. It's a prescription for cultural reformation. I believe in reformation, but I believe there must be something even deeper.

I've read a lot of books about Jesus, not as a revolutionary who sought to overthrow the government or who called for violence or rebellion, God forbid, but rather a revolutionary of a different nature, one whose system was so radically different that it brought about a revolution in society. You see, reformation sometimes can just mean changing the window dressing without getting to the root issues. Obviously, real deep reformation will get to the root issues.

But what we must see is not just changes in laws and changes in the system, we must see a fundamentally radical shift in terms of orientation. I was just speaking to a journalist before the show, and he says the more that he's in the news cycle and looking at it, the more that he realizes that the ultimate battle is not against conservative values, but against God. It is ultimately the society saying, Psalm 2, we don't want your God, we don't want your Jesus, we don't want your Bible, get out of our lives. And we in turn are saying, we're not here to impose our values on you, we are not here to force things down your throat, but we do want you to know that you are lost and in need of a Savior, and Jesus is that Savior, and you can have a brand new life in him. That is our message, and it cannot change or waver. And I speak of revolution because it's a theme that God birthed in my heart over 20 years ago. The simple insight, which was, I mean, self-evident but just jumped all over me, was more of the same, will only produce more of the same. That what we're doing in church life, what we're doing in the culture, what we're doing in politics as believers, is not working, and things are going in the opposite direction. Look, let's say you weigh 175 pounds and your ideal weight is 140 pounds, so you start this new diet and every week you gain a pound, it's like, okay, the diet's not working and more of the same, I'm just going to keep, I'm going to keep getting heavier.

Or if, you know, you're going to try this new lifestyle thing and it gets the opposite results or no results, okay, something else has to change, so it's got to be revolutionary in nature. Not rebellion. We are not rebels. We submit to God. We submit to the highest authority, right? So when the lower authority says, do this, and the higher authority says, don't do this, we obey the higher authority. It's not rebellion, it's obedience.

I don't preach civil disobedience, I preach biblical obedience. We are not ones who come with hatred, anger, intimidation, no, no, we come with the love of God, with the truth of God, we are full of courage, we don't back down. If we live, we live. If we die, we die. We preach Jesus.

That's who we are. But it is revolutionary. And it is revolutionary change in our lives, which brings revolutionary change in the world around us. All right, so here are the four stages of a gospel-based moral and cultural revolution. Here's where it all starts. Number one, revival in the church. Revival in the church. If, to say it for the thousandth time, and I don't mean that you're not getting it or I have to keep repeating myself, but I mean it's important to keep repeating it. And many people hearing me for the first time, but I've been saying this over and over for years, I'm not so much concerned with the presence of darkness as I am with the absence of light. I check into a hotel. Happened over this weekend.

Check into a hotel. It's dark, it's night, right? Flip the lights on and nothing happens. I don't say, what's with the dark? Darkness, I curse this dark, I rebuke this darkness.

No, what's the matter with the light? Jesus says to us, his disciples, you are the light of the world. Matthew 5, Paul writes in Ephesians 5 that the light exposes everything and that we are light in the Lord. Jesus also tells us in Matthew 5 that we are the salt of the earth, and part of that means the moral conscience of the earth. So it is up to us, with multiplied tens of millions of believers in America, the big problem is not America's darkness, but we gotta fix the light, right?

It's common spiritual sense. That's what has to happen. And as you look in history, where there is gospel-based cultural change, it starts with the church getting revived. So that's the first thing that happens. Number one, very simple, revival in the church. It's massive, it's critically important, but since we're each lights individually, it could start with you, it could start with me. A fire gets ignited in your heart, it touches your family, it touches your local church, it spreads in the community. That's how often revival starts.

It gets hold of a few people, and the fire in them spreads to others to others, and then it's a movement. And behind the scenes, for years, people praying, praying, praying, crying out. So we must deepen our prayers for revival. My book, Revival or We Die, is not an overstatement, it is that urgent.

That's where things start. Revival in the church. Now, next stage, Christians are living differently, right?

So, stage number one, we wake up. We repent of our sin. We return to our first love. And as a result of it, we start living differently, which means we start doing good. We start evangelizing more. We start reaching out. People see the change in our lives.

Of course, there'll be resistance because of it, there'll be a price to pay, but as a result of us getting revived, we're now sharing the gospel more. People are more drawn to what we have to say. I remember when I was a commissioned salesman before I was in vocational ministry, and I was just having a day where I was overflowing with the joy of the Lord, and there was grace on me, that I would sell way, way better on those days. People are like, we're not interested in this? No problem, I just smile. Somehow, there was such positivity in me that it attracted people, and they were much more inclined to buy what I was selling.

Well, how much more when what you're selling is the good news about Jesus, right? To put it in those terms. And you are living it out. You're different.

What happened to you? And now there's conviction behind your words, and the Holy Spirit's working through you, and people come under conviction of sin, and so on. So, it's really quite amazing to see. Number one, revival in the church. Number two, as a result of that awakening, awakening in the body which leads to, we're doing good, we're serving our communities more.

The gospel message is more attractive because our lives are full of light and love. And now what happens? Lots of lost people get saved. Lots of lost people get saved. The Great Commission. This is why true revival will always result in evangelism.

Always. Always result in a surge of evangelism of people coming to the Lord, which leads to the third stage, which is now as a result of many people being saved, and as a result of Christians awakening, it begins to change the conscience of the society. All these people, think of some of the most notorious anti-God people in our society, from entertainers to songwriters and singers and actors, and then people in media and the news and influential thinkers, and think of a number of them getting radically born again. Think of them talking differently and living differently. Think of Christians now being awakened to boldness and no more hiding in the shadows with their faith and now laying out our values and the gospels behind it, and many people are saved, meaning that just statistics change.

You know, drug dealers getting saved will mean less drug distribution. These things have happened historically. So now as a result of that, it starts to, it comes to the society on a larger level, which leads to stage four, which is that the general tenor of the society changes.

It's just like if you're painting something and the paint is kind of a dark gray and you keep adding more and more white paint in, then the more you're painting, you're painting this wall, you can see it's getting brighter and brighter and brighter. But it must start with the gospel and it must start with revival in the church. So do we drop out of politics? No, no, we stay involved. Do we not get involved meeting with our school teachers to see what our kids are studying?

No, no, no, we stay involved. Do we not try to change the atmosphere at our college campus? No, no, do all of those things. Push back against unrighteousness in the workplace. Do the right thing. Be involved in your communities, but recognize that for real change to come, it can't just come by changing laws or getting rid of this person and putting in another person because hearts have to change and the light must shine. So we must see these stages, revival in the church and then the believers becoming awakened, doing good, reaching out and then the conversion of many sinners and Christians living differently produces that change in society and then others see it, others recognize it and the voting change, the culture changes.

That's how it has to happen. That's my passion. And friends, every one of us, we can all be part of it.

Start with praying for personal awakening in your own life and the burden of the Lord, the heart of God. Let it start with you. Let it start with me. All right, we will be right back. Phone lines are open. You can interact with me on any of these questions I've talked about. Maybe you're afraid of revival.

You just think of emotionalism or you think of strange manifestations. Hey, call me if you've got questions about that. But anything else you want to talk about, phone lines are open. 866-34-TRUTH.

Thanks, friends, for joining us on the Line of Fire. 866-348-7884. Anything you want to talk to me about, ask me about.

Phone lines are open. And I'll be getting to phone calls shortly, actually. I want to talk to you in a little while about California's Governor Gavin Newsom and his radical pro-abortion ads, even quoting scripture to support his point.

Yeah, we'll talk about that. Pastor John MacArthur has written a very stern letter of rebuke, and we'll share some of that with you. But first, we've got a lot of great stations in North Carolina.

The first stations we went on back in 2008 were in North Carolina. We've been on them and expanded to others in the state ever since. If any of you are associated with Congressman Ted Budd and would like to clarify something, give us a call. If you're part of his campaign or you're a supporter and know his position well, you can give us a call at 866-34-TRUTH.

Just say you're calling for that reason. So I got this in the mail today. I realized it wasn't sent directly to me. It was sent to someone else who apparently was registered as a Democrat, somehow ended up over at our house.

Long story. But anyway, it says this, Congressman Ted Budd opposes abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or to save a woman's life. And yeah, they've got a footnote for each thing and CBS this and so on and Huffington Post saying certain things. So they claim to document this, but even supports laws that could put doctors in jail, supports a national ban that would make all abortions illegal, opposes a woman's right to choose even if a woman is raped, the victim of incest, or if a woman's life is at stake, voted against protecting access to birth control. So it would not surprise me at all, I don't know Congressman Budd, it would not surprise me at all if he, being pro-life, opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, as he and others would say, why add another tragedy to a tragedy already than by taking the life of the baby that was conceived. But I don't know of pro-life leaders who say that if this is the only way to save the woman's life, if the mother will die by carrying the baby, that you can't abort in those situations because you're choosing one life or another, you can't preserve both if a case like that arose. So just wondering if you work with Congressman Budd or associate it with a supporter of his, if you'd like to clarify this, that would be great. It just seemed to be typical fear-mongering, exaggerating, however, even representing his real position, and I may just have some info on this here. Let's see, local news clip, when asked about that, he said something to the effect of that should be in consultation with their doctor, but we have to think of the fact that there are two lives here basically as an overriding principle. Okay, got it.

Yeah, so anyway, I just saw that. My thing is with political ads, I've seen sometimes on YouTube, an ad will pop up praising candidate A, right, and demonizing candidate B, and then a few minutes later another ad will pop up, and it's the exact opposite. Candidate B is wonderful, whatever it is. You think, okay, they are so polar opposite, you wonder are any of them true at all? They're so exaggerated, but that's what you get in the political scene. Instead of an actual debate on substance, it's often exaggeration and innuendo and accusation as opposed to, okay, I hold to this, you hold to this, let's talk about it.

So in any case, just wanted to find that out because it came in the mail today, I thought I'd ask. Let's go to the phones and we'll start in Greenville, South Carolina. Samuel, welcome to the line of fire. Hi, Dr. Brown.

Thanks for taking my call. I would have loved to ask a question about partisan politics, but I'll keep that for now and ask my question around revival because you've obviously been speaking about this for a while and I wanted to hear your thoughts about practically how you think this is likely to happen in the US. I mean, obviously you've been involved in the Brownsville revival and so you probably have some experience on how these things can evolve, but I wanted to hear your thoughts about how practically you think it will happen. Obviously, prayer is the baseline for this. We invite the Spirit of God to get involved, but I just wanted to hear your thoughts about in a practical sense, what do you think the church leaders need to do?

So in order to see this happen, we have to recognize our need. We're not going to pray for revival to be brought back to life if we think that we are fully alive or if we think that we're thriving or we're blessed or that all is well with America. You don't pray for revival unless you recognize there's a problem, there's an issue, and in that case, it could either be in your own life, you recognize your walk with God is not where it's supposed to be, you found yourself bound and you need to be free, it could be in your local church, you're not seeing people saved, it's been years and years and hardly any converts, and it could be something wider, it could be your community seems to be mocking God now and the school system's turning. You know, there are different reasons for which we pray for revival, but it's ultimately recognizing something wrong in the church.

Remember, five out of the seven churches in Asia Minor that Jesus spoke to in Revelation 2 and 3, five out of the seven he rebuked, and some very severely. You know, Sardis, he said, you have a reputation for being alive and yet you're dead. And Laodicea, you say I'm rich and creased in wealth, have need of nothing, but don't realize you're rich and pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. So think of being in that state and thinking we're great.

And then of course it starts with Ephesus, hardworking, orthodox in doctrine, exposing the false apostles, persevering, and yet you've left your first love. So often we're the last ones to notice it. My conspicuous mustache had gone completely gray and I didn't notice it. A friend hadn't seen me in years and came up to me and said, what happened to your mustache? You went all gray. I thought, what? Well, that's because my mustache was always a little bit lighter than my hair, so my hair was dark brown and my mustache was reddish brown.

And as my hair was getting lighter, my mustache was getting lighter, I didn't notice. And because you see it every day, you're not aware of the change. So if something that blatant and obvious we can miss, it's the same spiritually. So we need to press into God. Pastors and leaders need to give a vision of what the church is called to be according to the word, what God has done in times of revival in the past to create a hunger and thirst for people to begin to seek him for more and for more of God's reality in their lives, which then leads to more prayer, leads to repentance and crying out. As to how God is going to move, obviously this is speculation, but in my own heart I don't envision something like happened in Brownsville where there was one key place in America and then a few other places, smaller places, where people were flocking from around the country and going to that place. I believe there are going to be hundreds, maybe thousands, where the fire is falling, where God is moving. In that sense, maybe closer to the Jesus people movement where hippies, radicals, rebels by the thousands, by the hundreds of thousands around the world got dramatically saved. That's when I got saved, 71, and our lives were just turned around overnight. It happened around the world, and it was one of these things that God just did.

It was impossible to say why it was happening to so many of us at the same time, but it did. The difference here is my hope is that the churches will be ready. In other words, that there will be thousands of hot spots where people are being saved, but the churches are ready to disciple them and take them deeper. So you'll have building after building and home meeting after home meeting and tent after tent where the meetings are going every night. People are getting saved every night, and they're getting plugged in and nurtured and discipled, and communities are being impacted. That's what I see as I pray and think about it. That's what I see and envision. But it's got to start with each of us on a local level, and the key ingredient is hunger. Recognition something is wrong, recognition that there's more, and out of that, the heart cry, the seeking of God, the personal repentance, the corporate repentance, and then the outpouring of the Spirit. That's what I understand, sir.

Alright, thank you so much. Hey, tell you what, if you've got a partisan political question, go ahead and ask it. We got a little while before the break. Well, it's pretty, it's about how we have more or less sided with the Republican Party as a party in support of the gospel. Now, I get the thinking around it, because clearly there are a lot of really radical things that happen in the context of the Democratic Party.

And I do just feel that there isn't enough rebuke, for the lack of a better word, rebuke for things that are wrong with the Republican Party, simply because many Christians feel that the Republicans are more pro-God, if you like. And I was just wondering your thoughts about that. Yeah, 100% with you. 100% with you on that.

And I'm just jumping in so I can answer before the break. Of course, I addressed that in the political seduction of the church in my new book. A hundred times to one, I am with the Republican policies on pro-life, on family issues, on Israel, and some other key things, religious liberties, compared to a lot of the Democratic Party policies. But both parties are part of just a fleshly, worldly system, and neither party is God's party.

That was one of my issues with President Trump. I voted for him, but I was wondering where the evangelical voice is saying, we disagree with that, we don't like this, this is not a representative of who we are. When believers become an appendage of a political party, white evangelicals often with the Republican Party, black evangelicals often with the Democratic Party, we dilute ourselves. Rather, we are part of a heavenly third party, and then we call these earthly parties to account to do what's right and vote accordingly.

But we get way too partisan in our identification. Absolutely. All right, we'll be right back, friends. It's The Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on The Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Welcome, friends, to the broadcast. I am sending some tweets to my team, because I'm going to pull these up in a moment. Yeah, this is the way we do it in real time.

We have stuff prepared to pull up, and some other things will, during the show, say, hey, take a look at this. All right, I'm going to get to that in a minute. If you've got a question for me, you want to weigh in, you want to differ on a certain point, 866-348-7884.

That is the number to call. Okay, hurricanes and divine judgment. We need to be very, very careful before we call something an act of divine judgment. You say, well, why am I saying that? Who's saying that about Hurricane Ian and the devastation in Florida and beyond?

Well, I haven't heard people saying it, but here's what I know. If this hurricane hit California right now, if it hit one of these states that says we stand for abortion and we are going to be a sanctuary for abortion and come to us from around America, we want you here to have your abortions. Or a state like New York, which has been a haven for abortions. If it happened there, or if some of the buildings devastated were Planned Parenthood buildings, you better believe it would be very easy for many of us conservative Christian Bible believers, pro-lifers, to say, see, divine judgment.

You see? We need to be very, very careful. What would we think now if people on the left said, ah, this divine judgment on Governor DeSantis because of his pro-life policies and his anti-gay, anti-trans policies, this is judgment.

We'd mock that and we'd say, how dare you speak for God? This is obviously something tragic that happened in many lives lost and devastating, damaged, done, over a hundred billion dollars of damage, and again, above all the loss of life. We don't know why certain things happened. Now, you may be of the belief, maybe it's a Calvinist, that everything that happens is sent by God, and because it's devastating that it is therefore judgment by God on the sinful human race, or simply God sends these things for his purposes, we might say we don't know why these things happened. Does God actively send them? Does he allow them to happen?

Are there other factors? We don't know. But we just need to be very careful. I remember when I was on the air years back asking the question, is God sending these hurricanes that we're experiencing as divine judgment? And one caller suggested if that was the case, then they should just be hitting churches first since judgment begins with the house of God or there is enough sin in our own midst. And then someone else said, the odd thing is that all these alleged acts of judgment come in certain parts of the country at certain times of the year when that's hurricane season, and it would get our attention a lot more if they happened in a different part of the country at a different time when they're not expected.

Yeah, that's true. So a few years back in Minnesota, one of the denominations there was meeting. They were having a special meeting, and they were voting about changing their views on homosexuality. And what happened? A tornado sweeps through the city as this is happening is not the time where it would happen, the place where it would happen. And what happens? It knocks over steeple of the church building. Nobody was killed or injured in this, but that was one of those things as they're voting, that got attention. Was God sending a message?

That would get attention. What we need to do when we see something like this, a hurricane, is remember how small we are. Remember how tiny the human race is with all of our boasting and all of our pride.

We are tiny. If it rains too long, we all perish. If it gets too hot for too long, we all perish. If it gets too cold for too long, we all perish. If it doesn't rain enough, we all perish. And with all of our technology, we can't change it. We remember how small we are. We remember that one day there will be fierce judgment on the human race, and we come to God saying, Lord, in the midst of this fallen world, have mercy on us and be gracious to us. That's what I do at a time like this.

And then you get involved everywhere you know how to make a difference and help rebuild people's lives. Gavin Newsom and abortion. He got the attention of the pro-life community last month, so mid-September, when he made some announcements. Now, I want you to know how radically pro-abortion Governor Newsom is.

It's not a matter of him simply being pro-choice. The tweet that he has pinned on his account, on his Twitter account, this is what it says. New. Oh, I'm sorry. This is, hang on, hang on.

Let me get the right one here. Yeah, here's his pinned tweet. His pinned tweet says this. So, when you go on Twitter, this is the first thing that you're going to see.

Not the newest, but this one. Abortion is legal in California. It will remain that way. I just signed a bill that makes our state a safe haven for women across the nation.

We will not cooperate with any states that attempt to prosecute women or doctors for receiving or providing reproductive care. Has one million likes. That was June. June 24th. One million likes. And the newest bill just signed, for any reason, right up to the point of conception, there can be abortion. It's that bad. This is what he tweeted out September 15th. It's what he tweeted out.

You ready? New. Just launched billboards in seven of the most restrictive anti-abortion states that explain how women can access care, no matter where they live. To any woman seeking abortion in these anti-freedom states, California will defend your right to make decisions about your own health. So, he's celebrating this.

He's boasting about it. He's not just pro-choice, he is pro-abortion, right? And some of the states, like Oklahoma, a lot of Christian population there, Christian belief there, so for Oklahoma, what's he going to do? He's got to add a scripture verse. Yeah.

And we'll put the graphic up so you can see if you're watching. But he's telling you, you come to California for your abortion, and then there's a quote from a scripture at the end. I mean, look at this. It says, love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.

So here's what it says. Need an abortion? California is ready to help.

Learn more at abortion.ca.gov. And then a scripture. Love your neighbor as yourself. The words of Jesus.

There is no greater commandment than these. I mean, it is absolutely sickening. Marjorie Dannenfelser, who is a pro-life leader, she tweeted this out, this makes me sick. Gavin Newsom quoting scripture, love your neighbor as yourself, March 1231. This billboard going off in Oklahoma today, advertising California as an abortion, tourism destination, simply no words how twisted this is.

Better believe it. You know what Governor Newsom is shouting out to the nation? If you're a baby in the womb, you're not my neighbor. In the name of loving your neighbor, he's opening up California to kill the baby in the womb. Come from Oklahoma. Come from these other states that are now pro-life. They've been pro-life but are now more fully pro-life. Come to California, you can get your abortion, doesn't matter where you are in your pregnancy, you can get your abortion.

Why? Jesus said, love your neighbor as yourself. What a perversion of scripture.

What a sick misuse of scripture. So the baby in the womb, I'd love to see someone make a graphic of this. Here's a baby in the womb, right? You got the pregnant mom and like cartoon picture, you see the baby on the inside looking out saying, am I not your neighbor? Governor Newsom, am I not your neighbor?

No, come to California and get slaughtered, little baby. Pastor John MacArthur has issued a public letter of rebuke to Governor Newsom, not about Republicans versus Democrats, about the law of God and about the truth of God. And he says this, begins with this, Almighty God says in his word, righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Scripture also teaches that it is the chief duty of any civic leader to reward those who do well and to punish evil doers, who's got scripture references for each.

You have not only failed in that responsibility, you routinely turn it on its head, rewarding evil doers and punishing the righteous. The letter continues, in mid September, you were revealed to the entire nation how thoroughly rebellious against God you are when you sponsored billboards across America, promoting the slaughter of children whom he creates in the room, Psalm 139, Isaiah 45. You further compounded the wickedness of that murderous campaign with a reprehensible act of gross blasphemy, quoting the very words of Jesus from Mark 12 31, as if you could somehow twist his meaning and arrogate his name in favor of butchering unborn infants. Use the name and the words of Christ to promote the credo of Molech, Leviticus 20.

It'd be hard to imagine a greater sacrilege. The letter goes on and then, it's a personal appeal. My concern, Governor Newsom, is that your own soul lies in a grave, eternal peril, urging him to repent and find salvation in Jesus. And he notes, our church and countless Christians nationwide are praying for your full repentance. Please respond to the gospel, forsake the path of wickedness you have pursued all your life, turn to Christ, ask for forgiveness, and use your office to advance the cause of righteousness, as is your duty, instead of undermining it, as has been your pattern. Yeah, this is gospel rebuke.

You say, well, that sounds harsh. Well, this is how God would speak prophetically to someone guilty of what he's doing. Remember, Gavin Newsom, as mayor of San Francisco, began to issue same-sex marriage licenses. This is when it was illegal in America. He did it in defiance of the law. And I know a Christian brother who was in a meeting with him, a church meeting with him, and prophesied a warning to him, not knowing about what his future was going to be, prophesied a warning to him way back. So this is a warning.

It's not Republican Democrat. It is the law of God. In other words, if someone murders, it doesn't matter what the state laws are, what the country laws are, that's a sin against God nonetheless.

If a man rapes a woman in a culture that looks the other way, that's a sin against God and that woman nonetheless. And God will hold them accountable. So here is a gospel preacher Pastor MacArthur holds Governor Newsom accountable and prays for salvation.

That's what it is about. So rather than joining on and cursing him, let's pray for him. Let's pray for his repentance. Let's pray that he will have a Saul of Tarsus-like experience where he encounters the reality of Jesus and realizes he's been sinning against God in the name of thinking he's doing good for people. I'm sure he does think he's doing good, and it's heroic, but he's sinning against God. And that, among many other sins, will damn him. He needs mercy like millions of others. Let's pray that God would transform him and make California into a pro-life sanctuary. We'll be right back. It's The Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on The Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Have you visited our totally revamped website? Totally revamped.

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It'll take you a second to do it, and we've got a really neat free e-book, mini book, to send you. All right, are you ready to get bombarded with edification? Are you ready to get stirred? Come on, I'm here, friends, to infuse you with faith and truth and courage. So you're ready to get stirred? You're ready to get energized spiritually?

Let me throw a number of things out to you. I tweeted this out a couple days back. I believe it is vitally important for Christians to be informed and to vote in these midterm elections, but my primary calling is not to help get the vote out, but to help get the body healthy and strong, so focused on Jesus that no electoral outcome will shake us or move us. That's why I'm here.

That's why I'm on the radar. That's why I write what I write. My calling is not primarily to say, go vote, go vote, go vote. Others are doing it, and that's their calling, and they're called to get you politically involved, and it's important that we are. My calling is to focus on something very different, which is to see the church healthy and thriving, because if we're healthy and thriving, other things will fall into place, and if we get the vote out and we're not healthy and thriving, nothing will fall into place.

All right? Just share my heart with you and encourage you to put first things first, because it's so easy to get caught up politically. I know many are uninvolved and don't vote at all. Vote.

Be informed and vote, all right? It's a stewardship responsibility that we have here in America, and it does affect our culture, and it does affect what your kid's learning in school. I mean, there are implications in these things. However, however, first and foremost, healthy church. It's critical what happens in the election. It's much more critical than what happens in the church. It's easy to vote, but to get the church healthy, that's a massive effort.

I tweeted this out. It's really very simple. If we, who are Jesus followers, shined more brightly, the world would be less dark. Bottom line. If we, who are Jesus followers, shined more brightly, the world would be less dark.

And then this. Simple rules for disciples of Jesus. This is all on Twitter. If you want to follow me on Twitter, it is D. R. Michael L. Brown. Make sure you get the two L's in the middle. Michael L. D. R. like doctorate.

D. R. Michael L. Brown. Simple rules to follow for disciples of Jesus. Vote, but don't get obsessed with politics. Stand formed, but don't get consumed with the news. Do good works, but don't forget about preaching the Gospel. Fully engage your mind, but don't neglect the power of the Spirit.

Ah, pretty simple. Shall I repeat those? Vote, but don't get obsessed with politics. Stand formed, but don't get consumed with the news. Do good works, but don't forget about preaching the Gospel. Fully engage your mind, but don't neglect the power of the Spirit. Let's go to the phones in Parrisburg, Virginia.

Josh, welcome to the line of fire. Hey, thank you, Mr. Brown. I appreciate you taking my question. And it does kind of relate to what you were just speaking with about politics. I'm very politically active at our party on a local level. Just, you know, I've always loved politics growing up, and I came from a very religious household. My grandpa is still a Pentecostal preacher today, and he always had a Bible in his hand and the news on TV. But no, he always put Jesus first for sure, and I'm not calling about him.

He's in good hands. But no, ever since the 2020 election, and I, you know, I obviously don't agree with everything the way the former president would state things, but I campaigned for him and I voted for him. But my dad has became obsessed with conspiracy theories and so-called prophets, and they always move the goalposts, and Trump's going to get reinstated by this day, and right now it's by the end of the year. I'm really concerned, because he'll tell me to keep the faith and keep having faith, and I'll say, Dad, our faith's got to be in Jesus.

That's what I'm talking about. But I'm very concerned, because he's collating his politics and Trump and the election with Jesus. Yeah, Josh, it's a real bad situation, and many well-meaning people like your dad have fallen into deception.

I want to send you as a gift, but when we're done, our call screener will stay on with you. I want to send you as a gift for you to read and to give to your dad my new book on the political seduction of the church. I have two whole chapters on the false prophecies and how it happened. I have a whole chapter on QAnon and how that crept in, and then why we supported Trump, why we believed he was the better candidate, why he did so much good and kind of became a champion, but then how things went too far. He became like the political savior, and many of us lost our way in the process, and that's why I wrote The Political Seduction of the Church as a two-time Trump voter, militantly opposed to many of the policies of President Biden and the Democrats. So I wrote it from that perspective, but it is the worst deception I've seen in over 50 years in the Lord, Josh. I've never seen so many people get to see so badly, and I think what happened is the stakes are so high, the issues are so intense, the ramifications of who's in so massive for future generations that we got caught up in an unhealthy way. And you know, look, if you've campaigned locally with politics, you know how intense it gets, and the more you see how ugly the other side can be and so on and so forth, it becomes terribly messy, and then when that gets joined together with our faith, as opposed to, I'm a believer, I preach the gospel, I love Jesus, I seek to win the lost and be a good influence and live a godly life, and I'm also involved politically, and I do this for a job, and so on.

Right, right, fine. But when the things get merged, that our politics become married with the gospel or we become an appendage of a political party, that's when there's real danger. So Josh, stay right there, our call screen is going to get your address, and I want to send you a free copy of the political seduction of the church, and tell your dad that I'm giving this to you and him as a gift, alright? And hopefully as he reads it, and he gets into the opening chapter, he'll say, hey, this guy understands.

This brown guy understands why we voted for Trump and why we felt the election was so critical, and then where the deception comes in. So may the Lord use this to help your dad and many others. Alright, thanks Josh, our call screen will get your info now. Friends, if you have not yet ordered the book, it really is critically important reading, and it will deal in depth with the key issues involved, even the role of the church in society. The role of the church in, do we take over society?

Where does it come to passing laws? And just a quick note to my team, hey, let's make sure the truth is on top of getting Josh's info here. Great, looks good there.

Alright, thanks. Just wanted to be sure out of the corner of my eye, I was looking to make sure we were following up on that. But friends, it's really important we get this right, because we've got 2022 elections upon us, and then it's going to be a whirlwind of activity and intense emotion until 2024.

And who knows where things go, if Democrats get a majority in the Senate, then there could be some real implications there. Now look, this may be divine judgment on America, this also may be more for the church to wake up, it may be more to awaken us, that we can't put our trust in any party, a lot of different things go on, let God be God. And my focus remains the same, church awaken. In fact, I posted this on Facebook, and it, Saturday night, I was in prayer, and I posted this, found this quote and posted it, and it's reached over 400,000 people on our Facebook page. Smith Wigglesworth, the apostle of faith as he was known, 1859 to 1947, said this, the reason the world is not seeing Jesus is that Christian people are not filled with Jesus. They are satisfied with attending meetings weekly, reading the Bible occasionally, and praying sometimes. It is an awful thing for me to see people who profess to be Christians lifeless, powerless, and in a place where their lives are so parallel to unbelievers' lives that it is difficult to tell which place they're in, whether in the flesh or in the spirit.

And it's gotten over 13,000 likes and amens and seemed to hit a, strike a chord, hit a nerve. Yes, let us look more like Jesus. Let us represent him more to the world. That's the number one thing we can do. Vote yes, but put first things first. Back with you tomorrow. Another program powered by the truth network.