The Spiritual Condition of America, Politics, Culture, and Current Events Analyzed Through the Lens of Scripture. Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. The Word of God says in Psalm 33:12, Blessed. Is the nation whose God Is the Lord. Hi, Alex McFarland here.
It's a great honor to be with you here as we are really on the eve of our nation's 250th birthday. As you're hearing this show, we are just days away from July 4th. And I tell people, this is my fourth favorite holiday in the year, America's birthday.
Now, my first favorite holiday is Christmas, the birth of Jesus. And I love Easter, the resurrection of Jesus. And I really, really love Thanksgiving, really. But I mean, right up there, and my family zealously celebrates it, it is the 4th of July, America's birthday. And I could not be happier than to be with the person with whom I converse right now.
For years, like so many Americans, I have followed the ministry of E.W. Jackson, benefited from this man's teaching and his wisdom. And what an honor, not just to be in the age of his ministry, but to call him a friend. He's with us now. And so stay tuned.
Maybe I should say buckle up because we're going to hear from E.W. Jackson, attorney, pastor, author, broadcaster, and just one of the great Christian voices of our times. Welcome, E.W. Jackson. Alex, it's always a pleasure and an honor to spend some time talking to you, whether we're on the air or off the air.
Amen, brother.
Well, stand, and I love the acronym of your ministry. Correct me if I get a mistake, but staying true to America's national destiny. That's it. And I believe God had a destiny in mind for this nation when He put it in the hearts of our founding fathers. And I think that that destiny is yet to unfold.
Amen, amen. Briefly, because there's so much I want to ask you about current events and just the judiciary, but your story, what God did to bring you to this point in the journey, and tell us a little bit about your ministry.
Well, you know, we're celebrating the 250th anniversary of our country that's coming up, and you and I share this mutual. deep love for America. And you know, I always say my story is ultimately an American story. You know, you and I were together recently with Andrew Walmack, and you shared some of your background. And I listened to your story, some of the things that I had not heard before.
It just reminds me of how God has blessed us to be in a country where we're really able to fulfill our God-given potential if we'll do what we're supposed to do, take responsibility for our own actions and for our own lives. And God has blessed you. He's blessed me. And so, really, my story, you know, from a broken home to foster care. To my father, who took me out of foster care and changed my life around because it was going in the very, very bad direction.
And then on to graduate from high school and join the Marine Corps and then college and Harvard Law School and to practice law. And now I'm in ministry full time and been in ministry for now about 35 years. And it's just been an odyssey. And you know, like you, I say, To God be the glory, because He's the one who has really engineered my life. And I'm just so grateful every day of my life to know the Lord.
and to be an American. Amen, amen. You know, your story is quite inspiring. I mean, Harvard Law School. Graduating, practicing law, passing the bar, I mean, that's no small thing too, is it?
I mean, you know, at a time when they were pushing affirmative action and you gotta give black people special treatment and all that, I mean, I passed not one bar exam, I passed two. because I wasn't sure whether I was going to Pennsylvania or Massachusetts. And so I took two bar exams and passed them both at the same time. And so, and again, I'm not saying that to brag on myself, but to brag on God and to have calm this notion. That you know, we limit ourselves when we listen to have people tell us you can't do this and you can't do that because the country is racist and things are biased and all that, instead of just going out there and putting your hand to the plow and getting it done.
That's the way I was taught. And God has blessed me in taking that attitude. Amen. You know, I've got to tell you a story, and I'd love for you to, you know, maybe comment for all of our listeners. Because I truly believe life is stewardship for the Christian.
And you know the parable, I believe it's in Matthew 25 about the talents. And the Lord expects us to do something with ourselves. You know, Ernest Hemingway. A lot of people may not be aware of this. He wrote for Sports Illustrated.
The very famous author Ernest Hemingway would write short articles, and this is many, many years ago. But he wrote a story about when he was in high school. Uh he was in a class and they had to write some little essay. And he knew of a student that was not especially gifted. And so he was getting the papers back, and Hemingway, even as a teenager, had.
you know, writing abilities. And he got a C on his paper, and this guy over here, who was a very poor student, got an A. And Ernest Hemingway said he went to his high school English teacher and he said What I wrote was better than what he wrote. I'm Pretty proficient writer. Why'd you give me a C and you gave that guy an A?
And the teacher said, look, For him, That was the best he could do. Based on his level of ability, he did an A. But you could have done better, and based on the level of abilities you've gotten, what you did was. Not worth more than a C. And I remember reading that Hemingway story, and I think about it: do we not all have an obligation?
To put our hand to the plow. Get going for Jesus, and with His help, for His glory, do the best we can do with ourselves. You know, my wife and I started a school, it's called the Maximum Potential Christian Academy. because we're teaching young people To take your potential and do the maximum you can with it, I think that's what God expects of us. You're absolutely right.
We don't bury our talents in the ground, we grow them, we develop them, we massage them. And just, you know, you and I have been speaking and writing for a long time, and I'm sure you're like I am. I'm always trying to do it better, I'm always trying to get to that next level.
So, yeah, it's a constant process. I think God honors that. If the Lord came right here and said, E. W, Pray, intercede. What would you ask the Lord for for the United States of America here at our country's birthday if Jesus said, sky's the limit?
What would you ask for? For me, it's very simple. O God, turn the hearts of our people back to you. Turn the hearts of our people back to you because I think That's the key. You quoted at the beginning: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
If we turn our hearts toward God, the sky is the limit for the future of this country. Amen, amen. And I truly think the United States of America has the potential to bless the entire world. I mean, agriculturally, our farmers are more productive. You know, the Midwest is the breadbasket of America.
You know, California is, they call it the salad bowl of America. I've been out to Gilroy and Salinas to preach. I didn't know this, like 90% of the world's tomatoes. come out of California. And I guess my point is, we have so much blessing.
That if we were a nation whose God is the Lord, not only would it save our own house, but it would touch planet earth, wouldn't it? It certainly would, you know, Abraham Lincoln said, I think this was his second inaugural address when he said, oh, maybe it was a Thanksgiving proclamation, where he said, you know, we have been blessed. more than any other nation, but we have forgotten God. And I think we can say that today. Look, you mentioned it in a conversation you and I had earlier.
I mean, airplanes, air conditioners, cell phones, telephones, you know, satellite communications, GPS. I mean, we have already blessed the world. And I think, again, The best days of America could yet be ahead if we would turn our hearts toward the God who has blessed us this far. We got to take a break. We're going to come back.
Alex McFarlane here with E.W. Jackson. Hey, let's each do what we can do to bless this nation and show our gratitude to God. Stay tuned. We're back after a brief break.
Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland, a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Producer Mike for the Alex McFarlane Show, listen to this. Alex is the Christian voice we need right now. I love listening to him, and the guests he has on the show are just amazing.
I highly recommend his podcast. Great words, Alex.
Well, we give God the glory. We thank the listeners for kind sentiments like that, but we give God all the glory. But, folks, please listen in, spread the word. You're spreading the gospel. Tell others about our programming, and we sincerely thank you.
Uh He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarlane Show. Welcome back to the program, visiting you with my very dear friend and colleague, E.W. Jackson. And before we go too much farther, I want you to give your website, tell us about your ministry.
I know you're on radio and TV all the time, but bring us up to speed with all that the Lord is doing.
Well, STAN, which is our national ministry, we do have a local church, but STAN is our national ministry, staying true to America's national destiny. The website is standamerica.us.us. And our mission is to bring Americans together across racial and cultural lines to preserve and defend our Judeo-Christian heritage and values as one nation under God. I think therein lies the key to our succession. Jesus said in Matthew 12, 25, the kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation.
And that's the future that awaits us if we allow racial division. And other kinds of division that the left stokes in this country to envelop us and consume us so that we are instead of a one nation under God, we are a set of warring tribes against each other. And so, Stan is committed to bringing us together. We've got a number of programs that we use to do that. The latest one is the Truth Tour for the 250th, where I'm going around the country talking about our history in a way that is not, frankly, being taught in our schools because we have a polemic against our country teaching people to hate America.
And I want to teach people all the reasons why we ought to love America. Amen, amen. And is your tour schedule and all the cities you're going to, is that on your website?
Well, it should be any minute now.
So, if they go to the website, they should find it there. I just had a meeting with my staff today to talk about making sure that all those engagements are indeed on the website. Are you open for invitations if cities want to book you and bring you to their town? Absolutely, and thank God invitations are coming in. All people have to do is email us at truththour at standinc.net.
Truthtor at standinc.net, or they can call our office, 757-375-6444. Let me ask you this about we have our Constitution, obviously, and then fifty states. uh they make their laws. Help us understand with your legal background how the laws work and Because it seems like I'll hear in the news that various states will pass something that sounds unconstitutional. Very often the rights of Christians and the First Amendment rights of religious groups seem to be suppressed.
And then, you know, maybe there'll be a good law, the vox populi, the will of the people. is implemented, but some judge will overturn it.
So give us a primer on our legal system. What's good? What's not so great? Let's do a health assessment of our blessed constitution.
Well, Alex, people are going to be shocked to hear this, but I graduated from what was then in 1978 when I graduated. Considered to be the top law school in the country, and maybe in the world, and probably is still ranked very high. I never once was asked to read the Constitution of the United States. Not once in the three years of law school. We were asked to read cases about the Constitution, but not the Constitution itself.
I think what has happened over the last generation, particularly since the 60s, is respect for the Constitution has diminished. And rather than honoring it, people are looking for a way around it. The left really sees it as an obstacle in their way because it limits the power of government. And judges, with that attitude, when they are appointed, see themselves in some sense. As responsible for moderating the Constitution so that it can't accomplish what it was designed to do because they think, again, it's in the way of real progress.
And so part of the problem is education. We've got to teach our people. Limited government works to preserve individual liberty. Our founding fathers had it right.
Well, yes, and individual liberty, which is so sacred and important, and then a free market economy. That is able to function without government intrusion. Part of America's genius and greatness are in these things: liberty and the free exchange of economics. Of course, ownership is a biblical idea. God is the one who gives people ownership.
And the left and socialism, which seems to be rising in our country right now, they think That ownership is a problem. Because if you own something, somehow you don't have the right to control that because it's to the detriment of others. But the fact of the matter is, ownership is precisely what's propelled us to be the wealthiest nation on earth, not just billionaires and millionaires, but the average individual lives better in America. The poor individual lives better in America than other people in middle class live in other parts of the world.
So individual liberty, you're right, free market, capitalism, the free exchange of ideas as well as of property is what makes this country the most successful economically in the history of mankind. The circuit judges, especially in the news, forever we've heard about the Ninth Circuit. We'll do this or that. And I always sort of groan because it seems like whenever you see Circuit court judge does this or that. The majority of time it seems like it's negative.
Help us understand this, and to what degree are you concerned about what we might call activist judges? Profoundly concerned because, look, here's the thing. I said there are many people I would not vote for a homosexual to be a judge. Not because I think they don't have the intelligence, but because if you've got a cause that's more important than the rule of law, That is what will always Went out, and you may end up making decisions which we've seen that had nothing to do with the law. Look, there's no right to kill an unborn baby in the Constitution.
There's no right for two men to marry in the Constitution. But because people had these causes, they allowed those causes to supersede the rule of law in the Constitution of the United States. That's why I think we've got to have people who believe in the text, that they are textualists and originalists, the text, and what the founding fathers intended when those constitutional provisions were passed, and then adhere to that. And if people don't like that, then let's get together and change it. But you don't simply ignore it because you don't like it.
I think it was Hillary Clinton. Maybe this didn't originate with her, but the first time I began to take note of this phrase, was I don't know, 10, 12 years ago, Hillary seemed to always be saying, the Constitution is a living document. The Constitution is a living document. What does that mean? Is that a good philosophy or not?
What does it mean? Yeah, it's terrible because what it means is the Constitution can mean whatever we want it to mean. That's what they're really saying. It can mean whatever we want it to mean.
So, sadly, Justice Gorsuch wrote the Boston decision in which he said that. Sex in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. included gender identity and sexual orientation.
Well But it didn't. It didn't. Because people hadn't even thought of those ideas. But see, that's a living document. Because, in other words, that's what I need it to mean, I want it to mean, because that's what it means.
During the years of the Civil Rights Movement and then, of course, civil rights legislation, I can guarantee. There is not one player in any of that era that would have been pro-transgender, are they? Oh my goodness, the culture. has shifted because people have been bombarded. Through entertainment, through the media, to buy into these exotic and frankly perverse ideas.
And once you get sort of a critical mass and people are saying, Oh, you don't agree with this? What's wrong with you? How could you not agree with this? You get people just buckling and saying, Well, yeah, sure, why not? And the sad thing is, Solomon Gomorrh didn't fare too well with that kind of approach.
Wow, we've got to take a break. We're going to come back more with E.W. Jackson. Dayton, we're back after this. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland, a religion and culture expert.
Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Hi, Alex McFarland here, and I want to invite you to be a part of something very powerful, United in Prayer. Through United in Prayer, people are coming together to pray for our families, our churches, and our nation. Each week we send you prayer points and suggestions about how to pray with power.
So please go to my website, alexmcfarland.com, and join us. And together, we'll be United in Prayer. Uh He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarlane Show. Welcome back to the program.
Before we resume our conversation with E.W. Jackson, I do want to remind everybody: please pray for our summer camps. We are in the middle of summer youth camps that will go up through about the middle of August. And we've been in Montana and Iowa and Georgia. And as you hear this, we'll be in Pennsylvania and Florida.
And kids are coming to Christ. We give God the glory for that. Please keep us in prayer. Also, late July, I will be at the Billy Graham Training Center in Western North Carolina, the Cove, and we'll be there next year as well. And then we've got our wonderful Conversations That Matter.
That's what we call it. And in August, Eric Metaxas will be with us. And that's in Myrtle Beach, and you can go there. It's going to be wonderful. Free, we bring in some of the great opinion makers of our times.
And then in October, we've got a big event on reaching Muslims for Christ. There's a lot going on. And of course, we're on radio and television seven days a week.
So please go to alexmcfarlane.com. Look at the calendar. I want to meet you when I come to your city. I want to meet you and let's talk about saving our nation. And I would ask that you would pray about partnering with us and help us financially.
The gospel is free, but it takes resources to deliver that free message. And so you can give securely online at alexmcfarland.com. You can mail a donation to AMM, as in Alex McFarland Ministries, P.O. Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. And you know, EW, we've done a lot with like Truth for a New Generation.
That's one of our conferences, and you've spoken it. And I was very reluctant to put my name on it. Because it's not about me, it's about Jesus. But so many people would write. Alex McFarlane Ministries that Our board, said Alex, People believe in you, you need to use your name.
But I just want to be on record that. I don't care that anybody knows my name, but I care that everybody knows the name above all names. Give your website again, if you would, sir. Yeah, our website is standamerica. Standamerica dot US.
Before the break, we were talking about judges and those that say the Constitution is a living document. And you know, when I read the founders, and I don't have a legal background like yourself, but I do care a lot about history, and I've actually taught political science. Really, I got into legal theory and political science theory in my philosophy degree at Liberty University. But here's my point: Jefferson and the founders believed in what we would call natural rights, not special rights, not contrived. Or some modern transient idea that we reproject that the founders would never have thought about.
If you could explain to us about natural rights and why we should really, really care about this. Yeah, natural rights are the rights, the fundamental rights that are given to us by Almighty God. And the founders believed in those very deeply. They believe that it is a natural right. I really think the most fundamental right that they believed in was the right of conscience.
that you cannot force a person to speak what they don't believe. Or you and you cannot force a person to think what they choose not to think or to do what they choose not to do, they have a right to. Self-governance is really the principle upon which our country was founded: that human beings have a right to govern themselves and that the government really ought to reflect the will of the people in a Judeo-Christian framework. And so, natural law is hated by some people because natural law would never sanction homosexuality. It would never sanction killing an unborn baby.
It would never sanction trying to change the gender of a child. It would never enshrine that into law and somehow sanction people claiming that that was a fundamental right. To do that to a child, or for a child to claim to want that done to them. And so, if we come back to natural law, frankly, we really ultimately come back to biblical principle because that's where it ultimately resorts. And so, the founding fathers had it right, and these exotic, I call them exotic rights that people are coming up with.
Oh, but they're suicidal. They are indeed. And help us understand, if I'm accurate on this, that really natural law, or we might call it the Judeo-Christian moral. code. That's the philosophical Presupposition And our Constitution can only really function in light of that.
Our Constitution can't really work in a relativistic, woke. fluidity context, can it? It only makes sense and is really functional if we believe in God and moral truth. Yeah, they refer to it as the laws of nature and nature's God. I mean, for example, some of these ideologies, Marxism being the chief one.
really deny natural law. Because what they say is your individual autonomy doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the collective. But the fact of the matter is God created every person as an individual. And we all have a right to make our own decisions and to govern our own lives as long as we're not hurting others in that process.
These collectivist ideologies deny that. You're not even important. You don't matter. What matters is the collective. And so coming back again to natural law brings us back to this notion of individual liberty.
Nobody's going to stand before God and say, well, look, I'm part of this group, and so I want these rules applied to me. No, everyone will stand before God as an individual. Who were your heroes or who are your heroes? Like, do you have like You know, two or three favorite U.S. presidents or other major leaders that especially made an impact on you?
Oh yeah, look, my top American historical figure is George Washington. And I love George Washington for a whole lot of reasons, but I'll give you the top two. That he was a man who could have had absolute power. And he didn't covet it. I mean, it's just to me, it's just, it's amazing.
And it's really counter to the way you've seen. Seen leaders behave throughout human history.
So that was number one. And number two, And you know that there's the song in America of the Beautiful, who more than a life their country loved. And George Washington, to me, is emblematic of that. He loved his fellow countrymen, he loved the potential future of his country so much. That he put himself on the line for five hard years of cold and wind and bullets flying at him, and trying to train an army that had very little in the way of resources or support.
So he's my number one. I would say Abraham Lincoln is a close second. And then I would say, I could give you two more. Martin Luther King would be one, but I'll tell you another one. Increasingly, I have a high regard for Donald Trump.
I think Donald Trump is going to go down as one of the greatest presidents of our history. I've often said history is going to be really good to Donald Trump. And I mean, I even have great Christian friends and pastors.
Well, I'll say this, my support for Donald Trump Has cost me a lot of preaching engagements, but history is going to be very favorable on him. Wouldn't you agree? I have to agree because I think Donald Trump has caught the zeitgeist, if you will. He really does, you know, you see what he does, you just think to yourself, you want to cheer on the inside because, you know, he's a champion for America. He's a champion for the average American.
He's a champion for the fact that this country has greatness and exceptionalism as part of its history and DNA. And he's not ashamed of that or apologetic for it.
Well, and he could be, I mean, with his money and at his stage in life, he could just be sitting on the beach in Florida. But he is really, quite literally, he would take a bullet for America because, on a couple of occasions, he has just about done that. We're almost out of time. I love the life of Billy Graham and a story, and I'd love for you to comment on it because I really think regarding racial strife, regarding everything really. The way God will save America.
is through his church. And Billy Graham, 1957, Billy Graham was probably nearing the peak of his power. I mean he spoke to Almost a tenth. Of the world population in his 60-year career. He was at Madison Square Garden.
Not only was it sold out to the rafters, but there were thousands that couldn't even get in the building. And in 1957, he invited a minister to share the stage and preach with him. and that minister was named doctor Reverend Martin Luther King, Junior. That was awesome. And those two men in New York City preached the gospel together one night.
And uh I've always admired that. And then I've read extensively about Dr. King and why we can't wait. But talk to us as we're almost out of time, regrettably. What can we do?
Give us a homework assignment. to be Christ's ambassadors and his ministers of reconciliation in this hour. Tell us what we might do, brother. I'd think at a time, Alex, when um our our psyches are being competed for By various forces to establish an identity other than Christ, your racial identity, your ideological identity, your party. We've got to make sure that our identity is rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ and in doing His will.
and making clear That no matter what else is happening, he is ultimate reality, and he is. He is the one to whom and for whom every single one of us is going to answer. And he loves us and wants us so badly. And I think that that's got to be preeminent in our hearts and minds. And particularly as Christian Americans, rather than buying into all of the other stuff that people want to get caught up in, because as you know now, people want to get caught up in their race and their sexual orientation and their identity.
I'm a Democrat, I'm a Republican. But we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, have got to remind people. Only one life will soon be passed, as the Psalm says, only what's done for Christ will last. The voice you're hearing, Dr. E.W.
Jackson, our friend and colleague, folks, I hope you have a blessed, blessed day and week. And maybe you'll cook some hot dogs or have a family get together. But before you do much else, bow your head, thank God for America, and say, Lord, what can I do to be your salt and light at this season? Blessings, my dear friends. And dear Lord, thank you for the United States of America.
Alex McFarlane Ministries are made possible through the prayers and financial support of partners like you. For over 20 years, this ministry has been bringing individuals into a personal relationship with Christ and has been equipping people to stand strong for truth. Learn more and donate securely online at alexmacfarlan.com. You may also reach us by calling 1-877-YESGOD and the number 1. That's 1-877-Y-E-S-G-O-D-1.
Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again on the next edition of the Alex McFarlane Show.
