Confronting the Culture with the Gospel of Jesus

Confronting the culture with the gospel, tackling the controversies. That's what we're going to do today on the line of fire. It's time for the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and President of Fire School of Ministry.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH. That's 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. I've got a question for you.

If you are a light. You're a lamp, you're a candle, you're a flashlight, you're on, you're lit up. If you are a light and you are put in a dark place, what will you do? By your very nature, you will shine, you will illuminate, you will make a difference. It is your nature to do so.

You can do no other. It is the nature. Of Light. I want to encourage you today. That we God's people are called to shine as lights in dark places, and it is our nature to do so.

Like it's the nature of a bird to fly, and it's the nature of fish to swim. It is the nature of light to shine, and we are called to shine. This is Michael Brown. Welcome to the line of fire, 866-348-7884. The number to call 866-348-7474.

for truth. The whole idea of should we confront culture, the whole question of should we address controversial issues. To me, it's not a question. To to me the question is answered by the nature of who we are. It would be like saying, Should the light shine in darkness?

Should the light illuminate darkness? Should the light make a difference in darkness? That to me would be the big issue and the big question. And there is no big issue, and there is no big question, because that's what light does. In the same way, when salt was put on something as a preservative in the ancient world, or salt was put on something for taste, that's what it did.

And the only salt that didn't do it was salt that was not salty anymore. And if that was possible, then the salt had no use and just be you step on it. You don't keep it, preserve it. It's just like if you had medicine that you found and you got sick with the same sickness you had 10 years earlier and you pull out the medicine, oh, I got some of these prescription drugs left. Yeah, but they expired nine years ago.

They're worthless. They're useless. But if you put that medicine in your system and it's up to date, it will do what it does. It is its nature to do so.

So I Just got a new book sent to me. And it's my nature as light. to address it. It's my late my nature is like to say, How would you feel? If your first grader came home, From public school with this brand new book, a beautifully illustrated children's book that I think is appropriate for first graders.

I had read about a first grade class that just decided not to use this. The book's been out for a few years, but just came to my attention to join my. fairly large collection of such books, but it's called Jacob's New Dress. That's right. Jacob's new dress.

Some kids say boys can't wear girl clothes, but why not? Jacob loves playing dress-up when he can be anything he wants to be, a pirate, a bird, or fireman. But he also wants to just be himself and wear his favorite thing, a dress.

Now Jacob has a new dress that he made himself, and what he wants most of all is to wear it to school. Will mom and dad let him? This heartwarming story speaks to the unique challenges faced by boys who don't identify with traditional gender roles. And of course, it's getting praised, social library journal, and book list, and Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Reviews says, a warmly illustrated picture book meant to conform both boys who are gender, to comfort both boys who are gender non-conforming and their parents.

Publishers Weekly, an ideal companion for families and educators, upbeat it realistic. Book list. This important book, one hopes, will provide reassurance to children like Jacob and inspire thoughtful discussion. Yeah. among first graders.

Among first graders. Parents, how would you feel if your kid came home with this book in his or her book bag? Hey mommy, we're reading this really interesting new book. Can I wear a dress too, the little boy asks? We'll be right back.

It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks friends for joining us on the line of fire.

Glamour.com reports Christopher Rosa. March 20th. The new Power Rangers film features the first Queer Ranger. Yes, the Yellow Ranger Trinny played by Becky G in the film reportedly identifies as LGBTQ plus. Mm-hmm.

That's that's right. Apparently 2017 is the year your 90s favorites receive woke, well, I'll skip over that, makeovers. First, we had the live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, which featured Disney's first gay character, an interracial kiss.

Now we have Power Rangers. In a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the director of the upcoming reboot, Dean Israelite, revealed one of the Rangers is queer. Israelites said to THR that was doing this interview. For Trini, really, she's questioning a lot about who she is. She hasn't fully figured it out yet.

I think that's what's great about that scene and what that scene propels for the rest of the movie is. That's okay. The movie is saying that's okay, and all of the kids have to own who they are and find their... Tribe. This is being celebrated by GLAD.

Used to be called the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. I renamed it the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Disagreement. And they just go by glad they don't even use the Acronym, just or the meaning of the acronym. They're celebrating this. LGBTQ youth deserve a happily ever after, just like everyone else.

So, friends, these are not things I go looking for. I didn't go looking for Time magazine basically arguing that all bathrooms should be gender neutral and on and on. I didn't go looking for Jacob's new dress.

Someone sent me a link and I read an article that it was going to be used in a first grade program in a city near me and then they decided not to use it.

So who knows how many programs it's being used in. We're not just talking about a couple who has a kid and the boy thinks he's a girl. and deeply has these feelings and the parents read the book and say, okay, let's read the book to our child and let's find some comfort here. We're talking, and that's a whole separate issue. And I say there's a better way to do that.

There's a better way to help that child than affirming the deep confusion. But we're talking about something that would then be in the public school system. We're talking about something that will be used to indoctrinate other impressionable kids. And These things have effect. that these things have consequences.

Here, here, look, look, think of this. I came to faith in 1971, 16 years old.

So I was shaped and molded by the counterculture revolution, the 60s. And suddenly In those days, it was very common for kids in high school, even younger high schoolers, to be sleeping around and doing drugs. If you went back just 10 years, it was much, much, much less common. There was some drinking, but not as much. Certainly, there was almost no drug use in the suburbs in particular, maybe more in the inner city, but much, much less.

And certainly, there was much, much less promiscuity. I mean, these things are known, these things are documented, these things are known anecdotally. And then suddenly there's a shift in the culture.

Something happens sociologically, something happens spiritually.

Something happens morally.

Something happens. on a number of different levels at the same time. and you have this seismic shift. And suddenly kids that a generation that would not have thought of having sex outside of wedlock is just doing it freely. It's doing it like that's the thing to do and that's the norm.

Things shift. Things shift the more you expose them to younger and younger people.

So there's no question. that the more kids are exposed to certain ideas at earlier ages, the more they're exposed to promiscuity at earlier ages, the more they're exposed to broken families and homes at earlier ages, the more they're exposed to alcohol use or drug use at earlier ages, that you will see as they grow up they are more prone to engage in related behaviors. Here, what do you think is going to happen? Tell me. What do you think is going to happen?

In states that have now legalized marijuana use.

So you don't have that taboo. Can't do it, shouldn't do it, wrong to do it. You don't have the taboo of buying it in public places. You don't have the taboo of carrying certain amounts with you. You don't have the taboo of sitting down at your home and doing it in front of your kids, perhaps, just saying, well, you're too young for this, but when you're older, that's legal.

Just like parents used to smoke cigarettes in front of their kids and say, don't you smoke till you're older.

Well, obviously by doing it, it opened the door for kids to smoke when they were younger and they followed the example of the parents and hey if it's if it's okay for them to do, it's okay for me to do. What's going to happen? How many kids are going to start using pot at earlier ages that would? How many will use it in greater doses than they would have? These are inevitable things that happen in a culture, in a society, when there are certain shifts.

I am concerned when I see yet another book designed to target impressionable children. You say, no, no, it's just a message to be loving to everyone. No, that's not the message of the book. It's not the message of the book. The message is not that this little boy comes to school wearing a dress and that And a boy beats up the boy in the dress, and the lesson of the book is don't beat up another child, even if they do something unusual like that.

And maybe it was a Christian message. We should pray for him because obviously he's confused because he's a boy and he thinks he's a girl. No, that's not what the message is. The message is, hey. Maybe you should do this.

Maybe this is who you really are. The message is if your kid feels like this, then you need to affirm it rather than look for some type of cure. In the second hour today, I've got an entry that's going to shock you. In fact, I'd encourage you to get online right now. And to check out my latest article.

Uh it's It's a shocker. It's a shocker. It's about David Kyle Foster and Pure Passion Ministries. And and why 850 videos that his ministry had. on Vimeo.

People that were engaged in sex trafficking that have been set free, delivered from that. people freed from pornography addictions and other sex addictions. People who are ex-gay sharing their testimony. No, no, if you say that homosexuality in any way reflects brokenness, reflects something wrong, that it needs to be healed or can be overcome or you can be changed, your videos are not welcome on Vimeo. Yet there's only one side of the message that can be proclaimed today.

And it is not our message. And when I see more and more things like this in the schools, when I see more and more things coming overtly our way in movies, when I see things more and more overtly coming our way in T V, when I see the slant of social media to increasingly ban and blacklist content that it differs with, This is an area of grave concern, and therefore. As one who is called to be light, we are all called to be light. Therefore, I'm going to do my best to shine. and illuminate things.

Now we come back, I want to open up the scriptures and take a look at Ephesians chapter 5. And if you miss any part of the broadcast, just remember to go to thelineoffire.org. Theline of fire dot org. And when you're there, lineofire.org, just click on listen. You can listen to the current show live from 2 to 4 p.m.

Eastern Standard Time, two full hours on the air. You can catch it on the internet if you don't have it in your local city broadcast. Or later in the day, you can go there to thelineoffire.org. And when you're there, click on latest articles. You'll see Vimeo declares war on gospel transformation.

Click on latest videos for the latest teaching videos and commentary videos that are there. And if you want to subscribe by podcast, you can do that as well, all at thelineofire.org. But Uh before we take a quick break Tomorrow. Don't want to miss tomorrow's broadcast. I can say without any hype that it will be one of the most fascinating broadcasts in the history.

of the line of fire. I mean that. I'm going to be speaking with Dr. Michael Heiser. Biblical and Semitic scholar, training, academic training similar to mine.

And He has written a new book. Maybe you read his previous one, The Unseen Realm. He's written a new book. which is called reversing hermon, Mount Hermon, H-E-R-M-O-N, you say, what does that mean? What does he mean by the Book of Enoch and the forgotten mystery of Jesus?

Trust me. It's going to be a fascinating, eye-opening interview. And it's coming your way tomorrow on the line of fire. You can also order his book. It's about to be released.

But you can order his book from us, Reversing Hermone, with a copy of the exclusive C D Of our interview. You can do that on the website, thelineoffire.org.

So take advantage of that. Order it today. As soon as the interview is done, then we'll be ready to ship the interview with the book. You will not be disappointed, trust me. I've been reading the book, and even though I'm trained in similar fields to Michael as he's putting these things together, Dr.

Heiser, it's a fascinating read, and it's going to be a controversial read as well. We'll be right. back. We're going to open the scriptures. Have your Bibles open to Ephesians 5.

Shake the name. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Explain this to me. Explain this to me, I don't want to be a too sore or difficult, alright? Explain this to me, okay? When you see a bird flying through the air, do you say, man, that's radical for that bird to fly?

Now you might say, that's amazing. That's incredible. Look at how God has designed those birds to fly. That's just extraordinary. But you don't say, man, it's radical for that bird to fly.

No, if you're out in a boat somewhere and you see fish swimming in the water, you don't say, man, how radical for those fish to swim. You might think, man, wouldn't it be amazing to be able to just go in the water like fish do and swim the way they do? Wouldn't that be amazing? Wouldn't that be incredible? Yeah, you might think that, but you don't think it's radical because fish are made to swim and birds are made to fly.

Right?

Well, light is meant to shine, and God says to us, be light. B light.

So if you find yourself in a situation filled with injustice, your light shines. If you find yourself in a situation filled with inequity, your light shines. If you find yourself in a situation filled with cruelty, Your light shines. If you find yourself in a situation filled with sin and abuse, your light shines. This is just what we do.

Shouldn't the presence of millions of believers in a culture make a difference? Shouldn't the presence of millions of believers shining like lights in dark places make a difference? The question is, are we really shining? Are we really being light? Or are we putting our light under a basket because it's too controversial to shine the light?

Are we hiding our light because it's too difficult to let the light shine? Or is it that our own light has been extinguished by the culture? that we become like the world, rather than changing the world, the world has changed us.

So let's take a look at Ephesians chapter 5. Let me read some of this to you. Let me bathe you in the word, encourage you in the word, challenge you in the word. Ephesians 5. And this is because of the forgiveness and mercy that has been extended to us.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. Hmm. I think we work on that for the rest of our lives and for eternity, huh? Being imitators of God, His character, His nature. His purity.

his love, his truth be imitators of God as beloved children, Not as children striving to be accepted by God, not as children rejected by an angry father. but his beloved children. and walk in love. As Messiah loved us, and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering. and sacrifice to God.

Now, let's consider this for a moment. We are to walk in love the same way Jesus loved us. And he set his love on us when we were in disobedience. He set His love on us when we were in sin. I am blessed to work with people who have very redemptive hearts.

and who will often point out in the midst of a confrontation that our goal is not to win the argument, but to win the person. Our goal is not to be proven right, but to turn that person's heart. and to ultimately reach them. You know the old saying, we can disagree without being disagreeable.

So walk in love, this is our calling, but sexual immorality? And all in purity? or covetousness. must not even be named among you. as is proper.

among saints. We are friends supposed to be different than the world. Let there be no filthiness. nor foolish talk? nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

This does tell us how we should talk. how we should present ourselves. For this You may be sure. That everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, meaning this is who they are, this is their lifestyle, or who is covetous, that is an idolater. has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ in God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words. And friends, let me interject whether those empty words come from a radio host, a T V preacher, a pulpit. A Bible school leader? Doesn't matter. Lead.

No one deceive you with empty words, if they come from the lips of a best selling Christian author. or through a Christian movie. Let no one deceive you with empty words. For because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them.

for at one time you were darkness. See that? At one time you were darkness. We didn't just walk in darkness. We didn't just live in darkness.

We were, by our nature, darkness. But now you are light in the Lord. Walk. as children of light. For the fruit of the light is found, And all that is good.

and right and true. and try to discern what is pleasing in the Lord.

So what are we called to do? Walk as children of light.

Now you. are light in the Lord. Again, this is who we are by nature. I walked into my radio office today. It was dark in here, because I was the one coming into my studio.

I flipped the lights on. What happened? It got light. That's what light does. And if there had been something laying on the floor at my feet I wouldn't have seen it with the lights on, I would have tripped over it, but when I put the lights on, if it was there, I would have seen it.

That's what light does. For the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part. And the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead.

Expose them. for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do, in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. Friends, This is why we address things in the culture. This is why we talk about what's happening in the world in which we live.

It is to expose things, to bring them to the light, so that we can address them righteously. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. I'd say that's pretty plain. but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret, but when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.

For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead. and Messiah will shine on you. Look carefully, then, how you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise.

Making the best. use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish. But understand what the will of the Lord is. May we take those words to heart.

May we digest them. May we pray over them. May they be our standard of life. By the Spirit, with God's grace, may we live by those words and live and shine as children of light. May we be the light in dark places.

wherever that is. May the light shine in dark marital relationships. May the light shine in families where kids are being abused. May the light shine in businesses with unethical practices. May the light shine behind pulpits where there's hypocrisy and corruption.

May the light shine on us that we may shine for him. Remember friends, be sure to check out my latest articles and videos at thelineoffire.org. It's the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRU. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. We are going to put into practice what we've been talking about, being light, shining light on culture, shining light in dark places. exposing what is wrong, pointing to what is right.

And I'm joined by my dear friend of many years, Larry Tomzak. He has put out the bullseye challenge in book form and online. 30 days, you will get 30 topics on video and in writing. And all the cutting-edge questions, issues of the day are tackled there with grace and with truth. Hey, Larry, welcome back to the line of fire.

Well, hey, Mike, it's great to be with you, and I mean that because you know how much I love and respect you. Yep, we got a good topic here, bro, to dig in. We we do. Before we dive into this, the question of where comedy has gone in in the culture, and it's it's an eye-opener. Larry has a new article on that.

Before we get into that, Larry, how long have you been teaching on marriage and family and those kinds of values?

Well, my wife and I in just a few weeks celebrate. We're right, I think, just behind you, forty-one years of marriage.

So even before, I mean, This year will be my 44th year in full-time ministry, and even when I was single, because I had some of the insights and there were desperate people all around me, I tried to impart some teaching on that. We've learned a lot of lessons, but we're not wavering from covenant marriage, one man, one woman. And Larry, you used to actually be part of a church planting movement where you would come in and do a marriage seminar as a way to draw people together and then even help plant a church on those foundations.

So these values have been deep to you for many years. Why is it so important that we not lose sight of those foundations? We're going to talk about other issues in culture, but why is it so important that we not lose sight of the foundational value of one man, one woman joined together for life and raising a family together?

Well, Mike, I mean, and I'm sure you say it regularly on the broadcast, when we go back to Genesis, the ministry of Jesus. the the epistles to the churches. Family marriage was central, and it's a picture, you know, of Christ in the church. And if that is shattered or demolished by the enemy, and he's working overtime to do that. then we've got our work cut out for us.

So We've just got to uphold these values. We can't waiver. And we've got to remember, you know, for this cause, a man leaves a father and a mother and is joined to his wife, and then that becomes a picture of Christ and his church to a watching world. And all right, you've also, in many of your articles and some of your books, detailed statistics. And I'm not expecting you to just rattle those off the top of your head, but as the years have gone on, Have our beliefs about marriage and family been proven?

In other words, has divorce had a negative effect or kids being raised in fatherless homes? Have these things had negative effects? Are there real impacts, negative impacts that occur when the mother-father-husband-wife bond is broken?

Well, you're right. I don't have the stats right off the bat. I'm sure you could pull them out, but. Yeah, I mean, we have seen whatsoever a man sows, so shall he reap. And we've just seen deviating from biblical Judeo-Christian standards.

look at the stats on divorce, look at what's happened in terms of couples Living together, lifestyle fornication, look at abortion, 58 million babies. I mean, it's devastating in our culture. But the good news is, you and I and others, we're doing what we can to preach the gospel and call people back to our biblical standards, to biblical truth, and to our heritage as a nation. It's serious. It's a very serious situation.

And so that's why you and I, we work so hard. We've got to reach everyone we can. Work while it's day, Jesus said, night comes. No, man.

So I'll stop there. All right, so when we come back, we're going to dive into Larry's latest column, which talks about what has happened to comedy. And you're going to find it eye-opening and disturbing, but listen, everything we do, everything we talk about, has a redemptive purpose. We expose darkness to draw attention to it, to draw us away from it, that we can live and walk in light. The light is so, so much better than the darkness.

We'll be right back. Yeah. Shake the name. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34 Truth. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. All right, my friend Larry Tomzak has written a column on barbedwire.com: The Collapse of Comedy in America. is no joking matter.

Uh Larry, what drew you to this topic?

Well, Mike, I, like everybody, need to laugh. I need to take some downtime, and I enjoy humor and laughter. you know, T V shows, let's Be honest, I mean, they're probably still on in the area of people listening here today. I mean, Andy Barney and Opie, and then Wally and the Beef, and Lucy, and Ricky, and Robin Laura Petri, and you know, all of these were clean, wonderful, wholesome comedy shows. And C.S.

Lewis said, Joy's the serious business of heaven. And so God ordained comedy, and we grew up with Good comedy. But something, and it's a sad reality today, is we're drifting as a nation. what we're seeing is comedy is really going off the rails. And I would say the decadence, Mike, is rapidly replacing any decency.

In other words, if it's offensive, if it's embarrassing, raunchy, boy, you hit the mark. And I know we want to pray for these comedians that are out there. And I thank God for Christian comedians that are out there doing their very best. But Mike, looking around, I am just I am stunned. at how far we have gone off track.

And, you know, just surveying the scene, I went out for a prayer walk the other day and I walked by a theater and I looked and there's chips. And maybe you grew up with that, you know, the California Highway Patrol, and you know, it was a wholesome, family-friendly show.

Well, now it's a it's a launchy, profanity-laced comedy that's out there. In fact, one of the guys, Eric Estrada, he said, you know, I saw the trailer the other day and it's pure trash. And so, Mike, I carry the burden like you. You look at a poster, the poster has the title Chips, and then it says Chip Happened underneath. And when I looked on plugged in in one of the movie reviews, I saw the drug abuse, violence, crude sexual concept, one hundred plus expletives, taking the name of our God in vain thirty times.

And I since this is family oriented here on the show, I it was shocking. And then recently I've just noticed a a a downturn, a show that, you know, maybe 42 years ago when it started, Saturday Night Live, I mean, you're talking over 10, 11 million people watch it every week, especially young people. It started out as a little edgy, but they had church lady and coneheads and goofy monologues. But today it's like nonstop attack, political mockery of anything conservative and all their sketches, the impersonations, the news updates, crude jokes about abortion and rape and And these, you know, these subjects today. And recently, I saw a YouTube video of.

A Christian woman that is the special counselor to President Trump, Kellyanne Conway, godly, brilliant woman, a wife and a mother. And the YouTube skit of her from Saturday Night Live, she was portrayed as a sex craze, seductress, maniacal killer. She kills herself in the end.

So I see this. Robert De Niro's new film is called The Comedian. It's just foul. insulting you know comedy Snoop Dogg has a video out. Dope Smoke.

He depicts the assassination of Donald Trump. And then you've got all these. you know, Netflix streaming comedians that are out there in their comedy clubs. And I pray for the Sarah Silvermans and Lena Dunhams and Chelsea Handlers and Amy Schumers and all of them, but They are so far removed from a Lucille Ball or Andy Griffith, Carol Burnett. And so today, and maybe you saw this last week, was it?

Eddie Griffin, 15,000 people were in Dallas. And he's doing his comedy show, and he's talking of Go and assassinate President Trump, just like JFK was killed in the city. I'm seeing this. That's the dark side. But the good side is we know God wants to intervene and bring an awakening in this nation And on the personal level, it starts with every one of us listening today.

Scripture says, Don't have fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness, expose them. Ephesians says Don't let sexual immorality any impurity among you. And it says let there be no filthiness, foolish talking, coarse joking, which aren't fitting. And so it starts with us. But then on a national level, we've got to do what I believe a man of God that set the pace for us.

And it wasn't just the John Wesleys and Charles Finney, but a man named William Wilberforce. 18th century, Great Britain, a short, five foot three young man. That worked for 26 years because he saw the moral decline and the breakdown in his generation. And Mike, I'm sure you're familiar. He worked night and day to uphold, he said, the sanctity of life.

And today, that's what we're doing in terms of addressing abortion and sex trafficking. And he saw the abolition of the slave trade and slavery. But then, Mike, he gave his life for what he called the reformation of manners.

Now that's not etiquette. What he was saying was there's a breakdown into society. And in his day it was Animal cruelty and public hangings and child labor, drunkenness, prostitution.

So today we've got our marijuana legalization, euthanasia, LGBTQ agenda, and what I'm seeing here is the collapse of comedy.

So, what he did was he preached the gospel unashamedly, unwaveringly. And he said, we're going to make goodness fashionable. Those that's those words. We're going to make goodness fashionable. We're going to show as we align with God's word and we follow His ways.

We're going to provoke people to jealousy and personalize families and marriages so that they're going to turn their hearts to the Lord Jesus. And so he he lived it. He was he was a revivalist in his day. And I believe every one of us listening today, as we see the collapse of comedy. God wants intervention, an awakening, a spiritual revolution.

And Mike, I just close with these words. Wesley told on his deathbed, he wrote to Wilberforce. I mean, Wesley was almost 90, 87, I think, and he said, unless God has raised you for this very thing, You'll be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God?

Oh, be not wary of well-doing, William. Go on in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery, the vilest that ever saw the sun. shall vanish away before it. Your servant, John Wesley. Those words inspired this man, and he stayed at it.

And that's what you and I and others today, we want to be catalytic. We want to be informed influencers and do our part to see the gospel transform our culture.

So I hope I said it briefly, but that's my passion with you, bro.

So Larry, I mean, you've laid out things very clearly, very graphically. The details, again, in your article on barbedwire.com, the collapse of comedy, America's No Joking Matter. And look, our great goal in calling is not to redeem comedy or not to raise the level of comedy. But what you're saying is this is symptomatic of a culture that's for years now. Become increasingly crude and profane, and it just keeps getting more and more so.

I'll be There's some downtime, maybe looking at a sports website for something. I'm reading an article.

Next thing it's got profanity in it. I thought. I was this is a sports website and and then next thing some You know, incredibly sensual picture of some ad. It's like, I went here for sports. I didn't go here for this.

I didn't go here for crude comments or profanity or those pictures, but they just pop up everywhere, you know, and stuff is now the, I guess, certain standards change, and what you can have on TV or what you can have in print just keeps getting lower and lower and worse and worse. And what you're saying first is to us, What we need to do. Separate ourselves from it rather than say, ah, I just get used to it.

Well, you know, it's it's not really to my taste, but I get used to it. Isn't that like the the frog in the the slowly boiling water that that it it starts to roast us before we even know it? Yeah, Mike, you know what? The article that I wrote, and I trust it will be on Charisma News as well. I started it with a poem by a man from France.

And listen to this. He said this. He said, quote. The devil pulls the strings which makes us dance. He finds delight in the most loathsome things, Some furtherance of hell each new day brings and yet we feel no horror in that rank advance.

And it's happening. And many young people and you could be listening today and say, well, I don't want to get into legalism and Jesus set me free and come on, times change and we need to get with the times No, God's standards don't change. And we are to uphold happy holiness, as our buddy Mike Bickel will say. Jesus was the happiest person that ever lived. He had joy anointed, it said in Hebrews 1, above anybody, above his fellows.

So if we're if we're enneshing ourselves and picking this up or allowing it in our personal lives, our families, couples getting together, hey, let's go to a comedy club and watch these zany comedians. You better check out, like, Plugged In is a great resource for us today in terms of movies, and there's other sites. That in advance So, you don't go to a movie and you think, oh, chips, hey, come on, let's get the kids. We grew up with that, honey. They're going to love it about the highway patrol in California.

And then you're. you're there shocked, jolted. By what's happening. And so it's time that we you know, we really recognize the sh the hour in which we're living. but not despair and recognize where evil does abound, So much more disgrace about.

And when the enemy comes in, The Bible says, like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord's gonna raise up a standard. And we wanna be part of that holy spiritual revolution.

So we are provoking people to jealousy by the life we live. And when we engage them in these kind of issues, we do it winsomely, charitably, but confidently, courageously. Amen. Larry, that's how you've lived it out. You've been a great example of that.

Friends, connect with Larry Tomczak, read his article on barbedwire.com, and then click on his links to find out how you can get connected with Larry Tomzak. Thanks so much for joining us, man. It's fire we want. Oh, fire we want. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. So that's really the first issue.

That's really the first issue. to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. That's really the first issue. to separate ourselves from that which is unclean and polluting. How can I help someone else if I'm being dragged down myself?

How can I help you find health? If I'm too sick to get out of bed, using a physical analogy. How can I help rescue you if I'm drowning in the same water with you?

So let's first look at our own lives. I expect the world to be the world. I expect sinners to sin. I expect ungodly people to do ungodly things. None of that surprises me in the least.

What does surprise me, although it shouldn't by now, is seeing the Church live like the world. By God's grace, we can be different. We should be different. We are called to be different. The world needs us to be different.

Jesus died for us to be different.

So let's first look at our own lives. 866-348-7884. And look, look. There are many obstacles we're going to face in a culture that becomes increasingly hostile to the gospel. That doesn't mean we retreat more because it's never been about our safety and comfort.

We're here on a mission. We're here as witnesses. We're on a mission, not a vacation.

So let's live accordingly. Johnny, grab clip number three. I want you to see what's happening on our college campuses And here you have conservatives. This is a college student describing her experience regarding the pro-liberal double standard on college campuses. And this is part of what we're up against in the society as.

A hole. Let's listen. One of my professors, he won't let us write anything conservative. Like, he'll say, oh, we can't write anything political, but for the kids who write liberal papers or agree with the liberal arguments or the left's arguments, he lets their papers go past. Whereas with those of us who write conservative arguments, He will fail our papers for writing about something political.

And the same with other teachers. One kid got in trouble in class for giving a talk on gun rights, and another got in trouble for giving a talk on feminism with the professor, who at the same time let someone give Trump hate speech in the middle of class.

So I feel like there definitely is a bias. And again, conservatives are being treated more as a second-class citizen now. Yeah, so a lot of what happened, as we discussed a few weeks back, is that the radicals of the 60s The revolutionaries of the 60s became the establishment of the 80s and 90s and 2000s. that that in in 2010s that Those that were counter-establishment became the establishment. As one of my guests pointed out, that they had the mentality, we're going to oppose the man.

You know, that's the establishment. Then they became the establishment. Then the man is five pro-life students.

So we're going to oppose them. In other words, it becomes totally ideological. And those who held to ideas that were considered very radical have now become the main stream of thought. and in a way that is very oppressive. in a way that does not allow freedom, in a way that closes the door.

And you're going to hear that. Momentarily. Again, if you're unable to listen to both hours on radio, by all means go to thelineoffire.org and you can catch up on the show later today or keep listening online on your cell phone, on your tablet, on your computer. But in short, in short. the atmosphere is such, be it On Vimeo, as you're about to hear in a moment.

on YouTube. on Facebook. Google. With all the power that these social media giants have. be it on Twitter.

There is The main thing is that we have a very good idea. that there is a right for all kinds of speech, hateful, ugly, malicious, even inciting violence, if it is against conservative values, if it is against Christians, if it is against the right. And I'm not putting all those necessarily in the same class, but often they are. Whereas we would say something that was deemed offensive to a particular group. Simply to say, God has a better way, and now we are bigots and hateful, and we are banned.

And this is what happened to David Foster with Pure Passion TV, Pure Passion Ministries, eight hours. 150 videos removed. By Vimeo. They shut down his account, and his is not the first.

Now, I don't say this with panic in my voice. I don't say this with the mentality of throwing in the towel and quitting. I don't I don't say this because It's too too late, I'm saying this, to wake us up. I'm saying this to stir boldness. I'm saying this to encourage holy outrage, not a fleshly outrage that gets angry with people and reacts in the flesh, but with a holy outrage that says, surely we can do better.

with a holy outrage that says, surely if God is our God, we can stand taller. With a holy outrage that says, We will not bow down to the politically correct culture of the day, we will not bow down to the demands of the hour, we will not bow down to what is expedient, we will bow down to the Lord alone, and we will do what is right. And again, it starts with doing what is right in our own hearts, in our own souls, not being polluted by the world. You know, when I radically transformed my lifestyle by God's grace a little over two and a half years ago and got rid of bad, unhealthy foods and just eat only healthy foods, again, dramatically, amazingly, wonderfully, incredibly. Indescribably life-transforming.

That's all I can say. But it took me getting rid of the bad stuff. Not having the foods I had eaten all my life. If you want to read about it, read our book, Breaking the Stronghold of Food. You can get it from our website, from the store on our website, lanafara.org, or you can get it on any major book dealer, Amazon and others.

Read the reviews on Amazon. You'll be blessed to hear the tremendous effect the books had on readers, Breaking the Stronghold of Food. But in fact, when We, Nancy first, then me. When when we got rid of the bad food. when we got rid of the unhealthy food.

It broke the addictions to it. It also broke the negative effect that those foods had in our body. And that's why, by God's grace, I haven't had a headache in two and a half years, whereas I used to have one several times a week, sometimes three, four times in a week, always at least two, three times in a week. The lower back pain sometimes was really bad. I haven't had it except once when I strained my back while traveling.

Otherwise, that's gone away.

So many other things, high blood pressure went from 149 over 103 down to about 105 over 65 or thereabouts. when I got rid of the bad and then put in the good. Everything changed. It's the same with your spiritual system. Get rid of the bad, get rid of the polluting stuff, get rid of the junk.

Fill it instead. Fill your system instead with healthy stuff, with the word, with prayer, with worship, with thanksgiving, with that which is edifying by fellowship, worship. and you'll see a dramatic change and you just naturally will start to Shine. All right, friends, I'm out of time, but take advantage of this special offer this week. Get Dr.

Michael Heis's book about to be hot off the press. On the the book of Enoch. And the forgotten mission of Jesus. You talk about an eye-opening book, together with an exclusive interview we're doing tomorrow, right during this hour here on the line of fire. My bottom line today, we are not on a vacation.

We're on a mission. Let us live accordingly. Confronting the culture with the gospel, tackling the controversies, that's what we're going to do today on the line of fire. It's time for the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and President of Fire School of Ministry. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH. That's 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Alright friends, we've been warning you for years. That those who came out of the closet want to put us in the closet. We've been warning you for years that there is a double standard when it comes to the concepts of tolerance and diversity and inclusion. We've been telling you that tolerance means utter intolerance against all other views. That being inclusive means exclusive of every view but our own, that diversity means my way or the highway.

And the latest shocking example, I've written about it in my article, Vimeo Declares War on Gospel Transformation. There has now been an all-outstated public. Unapologetic war against the gospel of transformation on Vimeo. Clear as day stated, and the latest victim, David Kyle Foster, and Pure Passion TV, Pure Passion Ministries. Dr.

Foster's been on with us before. We have featured his DVD such for some of you. In fact, I had the joy of participating in that from biblical and cultural perspectives. David, welcome back to the line of fire. It's great to have you on the air with us.

Thank you, Dr. Brown. It's good to be with you. David, before we talk about Vimeo, tell us a little bit about what your ministry, who you are, what you do.

Well, we've been trying to help sexually broken people. for 30 years now. with conferences, seminars, ten years of Television programming. And most recently, three documentaries, two of them on homosexuality. and an upcoming one on transgender.

So our goal has been to show people how Jesus Christ can set them free from whatever sexual brokenness they have, whether it's heterosexual or homosexual. See you've had guests like John Bevere talking about freedom from Pornography or K. Arthur Freedom from Sexual Addictions. This is some of what you have featured on the TV and on the videos as well, correct? Correct.

Right. And your own testimony, what what gives you the right to speak to these issues?

Well, I was severely sexually broken for the first 29 years of my life. I grew up with homosexual confusion. Um I got angry at God because he didn't Uh heal me. Fix me. And I went into rebellion and I went out to Hollywood, became an actor.

And I led a secret life as a male prostitute at the same time I was having quite quite a good success as an actor. and uh became a sex addict.

So they've been broken sexually in almost all the ways you can be. And then in nineteen um Eighty. I decided to Try Jesus one more time. I didn't think he would accept me because of my sinful lifestyle. My father had been a preacher and.

And so I had sinned willfully and knowingly against God. And um so I included Israel's Pine Jesus. And um And he spoke to me right in the garden of Gethsemane. Um I asked him how I could possibly know that he was the one, because I had been following a guru, guru Maharaji. And the guru had done supernatural things, and I assumed naively that if you did supernatural things, you were from God.

And um But the guru turned out to be a a fraud. Um And uh so I was left wondering, well, how am I supposed to know who God is? And the Lord spoke to me right in the Garden of Gethsemane, and he said, Who proved that he loved you? And I thought Well, my guru makes me feel love, but he's never actually demonstrated. It's neither.

Did Krishna or Muhammad or Buddha or any of them? They talked a good game, but they never. demonstrated their love by dying on a cross like Jesus. All right, and that pivotal moment has radically changed the life of Dr. David Kyle Foster.

Vimeo says we're not interested to hear it. We don't believe in it. We don't want to hear the message. We'll be right back. Change the world O God of burning, cleansing flame.

Send the fire. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Our speaker is Dr. David Kyle Foster, he's the director of Pure Passion TV. and very effective. In ministry for many, many years, bringing a message of healing, hope, transformation through the gospel for all kinds of sexual brokenness and addiction.

So, David, you were telling us right before the break that you got that revelation in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus demonstrated his love for you by dying on the cross, not just talking about love, but dying on the love. demonstrating it, what impact did that have on your life?

Well, uh One other That happened at the same time was I said, God, whoever you are, I give up. Um the one who had a son named Jesus, the one who created the heavens and the earth. Uh you're the one I'm talking to. Um I said um I will follow you. I'll I'll give up all of my uh sexual immorality.

today if you will set me free. You will give me the power to say no, because I was out of control. I was completely addicted and demonized and. um could not stop in my own power. And um And I felt uh Mm-hmm.

River of living water just started surging and pouring into my heart. And I didn't know it at the time, but Jesus had talked about this river of living water that wells up from within. for those who follow him. And he filled me with the Holy Spirit based on my commitment to his Lordship and His being my Savior and my willingness to follow Him rather than continue and since And so the power of the sin over me was broken. I was still broken.

I still had all the wounds that caused the brokenness. And I went through decades of a healing process. True. you know, to to get those wounds healed. But God has the power to set people free quite powerfully and And quickly in terms of um you know sinning or not sending, continuing.

All right, so you saw Dramatic, radical change in your lifestyle, that the things that you were bound by, addicted to, you were now free from. And then a process of many years of God healing the wounds and doing different things in your heart. In those ways, we're all Works in progress, no matter how whole we are, God's always dealing with us to grow into the image and likeness of Jesus.

So, through your ministry now, you You have received testimonies from many, many people.

Some of them are featured, for example, on the Such Were Some of You DVD. What types of stories, testimonies have you heard, have you featured through your ministry? Oh, we've had well, we have eight hundred and fifty videos, we had eight hundred and fifty videos on Vimeo. Uh which It's like the 10 years of television programming plus our documentaries. And I would say half of them deal with homosexuality, the other half deal with sex trafficking, child sexual abuse.

Sex fiction, pornography. Transgender So we're we've been helping a lot of people. in every area of sexual brokenness or God has through us. And the testimonies are just heartbreaking. People who have lived even worse lives than I I have and who who have been trafficked and brutalized.

They find Jesus Christ. He does the same thing for them that he did for me. He becomes their Lord. He empowers them to walk in a level of holiness that is. humanly impossible.

Otherwise And these people come on our show and they give testimony to what Jesus Christ has done for them and that. For example, with the homosexuals, it's often a bottle wound. Mostly with the male homosexuals, it's a father womb. They never emotionally bonded with their father. Or it could be sexual abuse with lesbians sixty five to eighty five percent have been sexually abused.

Well, they come on our show and they give testimony to the fact that God starts to heal them of the wounds. that led them into the gay lifestyle. He doesn't heal them of homosexuality per se. He heals them of the wounds that led them there. And Vimeo doesn't want people to hear that.

They don't want people to know that Jesus Christ. That's people free from sexual brokenness of any kind. They took down all of our videos, not just the ones on homosexuality. Close the account, 850.

Okay, so let's go through what happened here. You sent me all the documentation. I presented all the salient points in the article. Again, you can read it. Go to thelineoffire.org.

You'll just see it as the latest article. Vimeo declares war on gospel transformation, and it's on other websites as well.

So you get a notice from Vimeo saying that some of your videos, they didn't tell you which ones, were in violation of their policies. And specifically, they do not allow certain things. They don't allow hate speech or things like that.

So they inform you, Vimeo does not allow videos that harass, incite hatred. or depict excessive violence. They told you to remove any and all videos of this sort from your account. This was back in December. And they said your account would be reviewed in 48 hours.

And if your ministry didn't remove the allegedly offensive videos, then quote your videos and or your account. Excuse me, may be removed by a Vimeo moderator.

So you wrote back, what did you say to them?

Well, I said you're charging us with harassing, inciting hatred. And excessive violence, we don't do any of those things. But we've never done any of those things. Yeah. clear in the scriptures that it's the love of God that compels us.

It's the grace of God that teaches us to say no to ungodliness.

So any approach of harassing or inciting hatred is Antithetical to the gospel, and we would never have. Do that. And they came back saying, well, you're acting in a demeaning way towards homosexuals by suggesting that they're broken. And so I I replied, I said, well, Why aren't you, um Objecting to the fact that we're suggesting that heterosexuals are broken as well. Uh we help we help all people who are broken.

heterosexual or homosexual. We're not targeting any group. And we're not affecting in any agent or demeaning way. And um They just couldn't answer that. They told us to take down all the videos that did what they were claiming we did.

inventing uh actions on our part that were untrue. Not telling us. What all the videos were that they were objecting to. They gave us three or four examples, but they wouldn't tell us all of them, yet they demanded that we take them all down.

So they were demanding us take down videos, we didn't even know which ones they were talking about. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I'm relying it So their underlying intended was clear from the start. They they this wasn't about hatred or harassing or violence. They just Don't want people to know that Jesus Christ can set sexually broken people free.

Yeah, so any notion that homosexuality has anything to do with sexual brokenness. Or is wrong, or defective, or not ideal, or not to be celebrated. Is not to be tolerated on Vimeo, and any message that Jesus can change you. It's not to be tolerated.

So you cannot have a biblical definition of sin. You cannot have a biblical worldview of sexuality, and And you cannot have a biblical message of liberation. I mean, they told you, they said, yeah, we don't think you're being hateful or you're not one of these really bad groups. But nonetheless, your message is not welcome. I mean, you had dialogue back and forth.

Initially, they said, okay, keep them up. And then they came after you again a few months later. And then the dialogue, I read it all back and forth. And I quote it back and forth at length. They made it as clear as can be clear that this message of transformation through the gospel and this message of a biblical worldview on sexuality is not welcome on Vimeo.

And we found out, you were aware of this and informed me, that this had also been done to Restored Hope Network. a conference where they had uh Jaded Mefford and Joe Dallas speaking. That conference was pulled and they pulled all the videos of Restored Hope Network and NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. They shut down their account.

So this is this is an aggressive Absolutely. Frontal assault by Vimeo. All right, right now I've encouraged folks to write to Vimeo and to protest this. I talked with an attorney friend and said unless the government is involved in some way, discrimination charges become more difficult to raise because a private company can do what they want to do. We're going to keep working on it from different angles.

But if folks want to connect with you, they want to find out about the resources. they themselves are struggling or they have a family member that's struggling, where do they go? Where's the best place to go right now? Our primary website is PurePassion. Dot US And our Facebook page is um Facebook.com slash purepassion TV.

Those are the two best places to find out what's going on. All right, give us those once more, please. Our ministry website is purepassion.us. All right. Our Facebook page is Facebook.com.

Yeah. George Passion T V. All right, so friends. I am praying and asking you to pray that this negative work by Vimeo will actually turn around for the good and that Pure Passion T V will get more exposure. That more people will be drawn to what Dr.

Foster is doing, that more people will find hope. and homeless and transformation. Pray for Pure Passion TV. Go to the website, connect with them on Facebook. I've also got a YouTube link as well in my article.

Write to Vimeo. We've got all the info in the article. David, stay strong. I know you are. You've been through many battles.

You'll get through this as well. And we're praying God will turn things for good. greater exposure for this important message. Thank you, sir, for joining us. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. My friends, I have carefully followed what has happened in North Carolina, which has been my home state for some years now, as HB2 the so-called bathroom.

Safety Bill. As that bill passed and much of the nation has come against our state and threats from the sports industry and business industry, and from what we can tell, the economy continues to thrive and do well. Right now, Texas is in a similar situation. Will they pass a bathroom safety bill? Threats from the NFL and others, well, we'll pull our sports events from your city and our big events and things like that.

Well, there are pastors in Houston, Texas who stood up against the aggressive activist lesbian mayor and her city attorney. And these pastors are standing up again, calling on Texas legislators to do the right thing. One of the key leaders, a dear friend and colleague, highly respected leader in Houston and America, Pastor Steve Riggle. Steve, welcome back to the line of fire. Thanks so much for joining us today.

I'm very glad to be there, Michael. Thank you for having me. By all means, let our listeners know where things stand in Texas today. and what is happening strategically with you and this group of five pastors.

Okay. The the Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick, uh very courageously has championed a bill known as SB six, the Senate Senate Bill 6. The Lieutenant Governor in Texas is the President of the Senate. And so He's the guy really responsible for any legislation that actually gets to the floor. Another senator actually authored the bill.

But the Lieutenant Governor has really pushed this And in the bill, it basically would prohibit Any um Any government entity, whether that's a school, school board, Community Park. locker room or change room, community pool, things like that. Um or any of the government buildings, whether they're city, county, or state That a male, a biological male, could not use. whatever restroom he chose. they that you would have to use the restroom of the gender you were assigned at birth.

it would leave the business community alone to make their own decision, which in our opinion, is fine because The business community then is subject to its customers, as in Target. And no pun, well, maybe there is a pun here.

So, if you want to become the target, like target has been. And have your revenues drop millions and millions of dollars and your stock drop over a third. Then that'd be fine. And um So that bill went to the Senate. We have thirty one senators.

It was a twenty one to ten vote to pass. along party lines, with the exception of one Democratic senator uh crossed the line and voted with the Republicans. Uh Now it goes to the Texas house. There are one hundred and fifty house members. The um the Speaker of the House, who is a Republican, has come out and said he will not support the bill.

Mm.

So uh We are we have stepped in. To Uh how Yeah. as many of the other one hundred forty nine get a little backbone as we can to stand up and demand that this make it to the House floor for a full vote.

So they don't play the political games they normally do and it and it'll end up where they r the session runs out of time and they can't get it through. play on the 'cause they just play those games.

So So today We had a number of pastors, many dozens, maybe a hundred or more. Come to Um the church kind of on a pretty last minute call. Um And we recorded a video. This is a very Um very ethnically diverse group.

So it's not one A specific group that anybody could point a finger at, and we Today we we called out The ten senators We commended the twenty one who voted for. We called we chastised the ten who decided not to by giving them an award, which will hit the news media here in just a couple of hours. Um And we chat we also gave the award to the Speaker of the House. since he already said he was not for it. and we challenged the other one hundred forty nine representatives to um to stand up to protect the privacy of of women and girls in the restroom in changing rooms and locker rooms and so forth.

Um And if they wouldn't. then we would give them the same award, and hopefully, these will be used in their next reelection bid against them. And um The award we gave them was um their faith On a poster board, And the frame around their head was a toilet seat. And so we gave them We gave them the Texas Toilet Seat Award. And I guess people would say, What in the world are pastors doing that?

And I would say to them, I get you on that one. 'Cause I never thought in my lifetime I'd be having stand up to try to keep men out of women's restrooms.

So basically we went to that point because we're fed up. We're just fed up with this stuff. And and do you s feel that Texas is afraid of recriminations, that you're they're going to look like some backwood bigots and don't want to lose business and it's just a bit of cowardice here rather than principle?

Well, that is the argument in the House. That's the argument. Not all the members of the House. We have a lot of very strong House members. Who will be for this bill.

Um But the argument is that it will hurt the economy.

So We address that. Today in the video. In fact, people could go to a website, US Pastors Council. org. and they can see a video of the Senate committee hearing where the Texas Association of Business and the Chamber of Commerce came in.

The five representatives to argue the economic argument. And Senator Kelly Hancock, he challenged them to do to do the math using their own numbers. It was the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen. I would encourage all of your listeners to go see that. What's the website again?

It's US Pastors Council dot org. And there they can see a number of resources where That economic argument is totally debunked. As a matter of fact, I did a news conference with the Lieutenant Governor and the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. just a week or so ago. on this.

And the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina gave the actual business data from North Carolina that Actually, business there is booming. Same thing is true in Texas and Houston, as a matter of fact. We just hosted the Super Bowl. That was after. We told the mayor of Houston we don't want men in women's restrooms.

They gave us that argument, all the financial recrimination. And The Super Bowl was an economic success. Stay right there. If you could just hold right through the brake. We pick up, we're gonna...

Pulling listeners from all over Dallas, Fort Worth. I wonder if you could just say a word to the pastors. It's the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34 TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Welcome, welcome to the line of fire. This is Michael Brown.

Thank you so much for joining us on the air today. I received a book in the mail. I had ordered it when someone asked me if I had seen it. I received a book in the mail today, was flipping through it earlier. It's called Jacob's Dress.

It's a story that's being introduced in schools, different schools in America, I think, especially for first graders, encouraging them to consider transgender expression and to be open to these things in their own lives. Little children. These things are knocking at our doors. Just read an account of a woman in Disneyland where a large man was in the ladies' bathroom, not even pretending to be a woman, but was in the ladies' bathroom, actually walking around looking in the stalls. They were all terrified to say anything and afraid also if they did say something, they'd be accused of being bigoted because, after all, he could be there if he identifies as a woman.

This is some of the moral and cultural insanity we are facing. And there are pastors who are saying, enough is enough. We love everyone. We care for everyone. but enough is enough.

And there are pastors of leading churches, prestigious mega churches like Grace Church in Houston, Texas, led by Pastor Steve Riggle, where leaders are saying, hey, We have built a reputation, serving the community for decades, and we're going to continue to serve the community, even when it is controversial. Pastor Steve Regal is with me right now on the line. Steve, all the years you serve the community, you've gotten recognition from the state, from the city. You have been involved with senior leadership throughout the state and city for many, many years, and yet you have not. Bow down to controversy and said this is politically correct to do a certain way.

I've got to back down. Instead, you said, We're going to do what's right. We're going to take a stand. You led the way fighting the city ordinance in Houston.

Now you're urging legislators to do the right thing and vote for bathroom safety in the state of Texas. Sir, why is it time for pastors, Christians to take a stand?

Well, in in Houston, Um if everyone will remember. It took us two years. Uh a month in court. Sermon subpoenas by the mayor. six hundred fifty thousand dollars in legal fees, and two Supreme Court of Texas decisions.

to allow the people to vote. And when we did, they voted overwhelmingly and said, we don't want men in women's restrooms. S V six We'll fix that problem all across the state So it doesn't have to be fought again, school by school, school board by school board. community by community. And so I'm encouraging every pastor to stand up to call your state representative in the district you live in, and to call the state representative In what your church represents, however many that would be within the scope of the membership of your church.

and just say to them, I'm urging you to vote yes. on S B six. And then we're asking pastors to ask their congregations to do the exact same thing. to call their representatives. Because if the representatives don't hear from us, They only hear From uh from the other side.

And so then we're asking every Texan to call their state representative. And because this will settle it for all of the state, let's fix this once and for all. People are waiting right now. Congregation members are waiting for pastors to stand up. and take a courageous lead.

And if we will, they will follow. Yeah, abs absolutely. If enough states do this, it will turn back some of the cultural madness. And allow us to help minister to those in real need. And there's a video with different pastors.

We've just got about 20 seconds. Is there a website to go to to find out more? US PastorsCouncil. org and the video we did this morning will be up there within the next two hours. All right, you've got the U.S.

Pastors Council, it's C-O-U-N-C-I-L. Go there, friends, watch the video, share it with others. Pastor Steve, there are more for you than against you. Thanks for taking a stand. Thank you.

Change the world. Change the world. God of burning, cleansing flame, send the fire. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Welcome back, friends, to the line of fire. Listen, there are lots and lots of things that we engage in as believers. There are lots and lots of things that we say and do and get involved in.

And primarily, we want to live lives that are pleasing to God and lead others to know. Know him. If you want to summarize our calling, it's simple. We are called to be disciples and to make disciples, to know God. and to make him known.

Mm-hmm. How do disciples live? I started this show over an hour and a half ago. By saying, what does light do? Light shines.

Light shines. If you put light in the dark place, what does it do? It shines.

So by nature, that's what we do. Do.

So when it comes to certain issues, there's a vote. We vote the right way. Here's a big question for you, all right? How much time does it take to vote? If there's a major issue in your state, if there's a major issue coming down for the society.

if it's the President of the United States. If it's a a bill that's going to affect your state. How how much time does it take to vote? Are you going to tell me that in the course of a week or the course of a month. We don't waste more time on frivolous things.

Um pursuits that are almost meaningless. We don't waste more time than it takes us to vote. How often do we vote on things? Once every two years, once every four years.

So when you're encouraged to vote, how how long does it take to to make a phone call. to a to a congressman. How long does that take? Or to send... An email.

How long does that take? Let the legislators do the heavy lifting. Yeah, I'll I'll write the articles. I'll get on the radio and talk about things and educate and inform. I'll do what I can do because I'm called to.

Deal with some of these issues and then let others, let pastors and teachers, just equip as they need to so we can be culturally literate. And then everyone else just does what's easy. Hey, people know in my office what I'm good at and what I'm not good at.

So You want me to address a controversial article or controversial topic on the radio, debate a hot topic, write about it, do a debate on a college campus in a hostile environment, have someone come on the radio and challenge me. Great, it's my meet and drink. Please, my joy, my privilege. You've got a lot of paperwork for me. Just come in with those little stickers that show me where I sign.

You read it, you vet it, and let me just sign because I don't like the other stuff wears me out.

So here, just show me where to sign.

Okay, let me get educated on the issues. Once I understand just where do I go to show up and vote, and I can do that.

So do what you can do. And the website USPastor Council. Looks like singular, US Pastor Council, C-O-U-N-C-I-S. and you'll find more information there. SB6 in Texas, HB2 in North Carolina.

We've got listeners all over our great stations here in North Carolina. You know that we have been told that HB2 has cost North Carolina's economy hundreds of millions of dollars.

Well, according to Lieutenant Governor Dan Forrest, this was back in March 6th, so three weeks ago. He said HB2 has hurt North Carolina's economy by one. Tenth. of one point. of our annual G.

D P. The boycotts of North Carolina by businesses, musicians, sports leagues, and others have led to national headlines and outrage from opponents of the law that spurred the backlash. House Bill 2, or HB2 as it's more commonly known, has been creating economic backlash against North Carolina for nearly a year now. This is an article on PolitiFact, North Carolina, in partnership with the News and Observer.

So this is hardly a conservative website. Yeah. And they go through everything and they said, you know, actually, Forrest is is correct. Um And and they they say the same thing. They argued the same thing.

Uh they say that when when uh Commerce Secretary John Sclavara had said that HB2 hadn't had one iota of a negative effect on North Carolina's economy. They ruled that claim was mostly false. But then they say ultimately, When you look at what the GDP is around 510 billion, So a loss of $500 million would only represent one. tenth of a percent of that. And that's what Dan Forrest said.

So bottom line is, all the sky is falling and it's going to do what's right. And ultimately God will bless if you do what's right. Do what's right. And use common sense and use wisdom, and ultimately that will bring the smile of God, and that that will bring blessing with it.

So let's not be cowards. Here's how we live it out. Here's how you live it out on social media. Here's how you live it out in your home. Here's how you live it out at your school.

You do what's right because it's right. even if they're negative consequences. Everybody on my job is dishonest and that's how they get ahead. It's a sales job and you have to lie to the customers to get ahead.

Well, you can't do that. You're a believer. You're forbidden from doing that.

Well, I mean, I'm just using, I'm reading the script, honestly. You're lying on behalf of the company.

Well, if I if I tell the truth, I'll lose my customers. You might. You might get fired. But God will bless you for it and honor you for it. And ultimately, years later, as you look back, as you look back years later, you will see that you were blessed to do things God's will.

way. This is how we do it in social media. We have a position that we hold to. We're not trying to be obnoxious or nasty, but we have a position that we hold to that we believe is right. and others mock us for it, well, we still share it.

Because We're not going to be silenced. We shall share it, because what matters most is truth. We still share it because that's what light Yeah. Otherwise, all we're doing is just giving up the culture. All we're doing is just giving ground up and the next thing it comes knocking at your door.

Next thing you get banned from being on Facebook, next thing you get uh y you you find things being taught in your children's school and and when you when you protest, when you raise issues with it, that instead you're you're shut down and told nothing you can do about it, don't don't wait till things reach that critical mass. Do the right thing today. And if we get rejected, hated for it, rejoice That's the gospel. That's what comes with the territory. Um I spoke with David Kyle Foster, Pure Passion Ministries, Pure Passion TV.

last half hour. But I want to just share in a little bit more detail. He gets a notice. He himself is an ex-gay. leader.

He himself came from severe sexual brokenness, addiction, sin. And she uh He founded this ministry They help people with all types of sexual brokenness, be it heterosexual addictions to pornography, be it homosexual issues, be it transgender issues. And they've been very effective, always full of love and grace, and a powerful ministry. I did an interview with them years back and then received a note from a gal in another country saying, watching that video, that's the first time she really saw grace and truth come together. It gave her hope that she could get out of lesbianism.

And she's been following Jesus ever since.

So he gets a notice last December from Vimeo. They had 850 videos on the Vimeo website where you could go there and watch them.

So He gets a notice from Vimeo, and Vimeo says, We do not allow videos that harass and cite hatred. or depict excessive violence. They told him to remove such offending videos. They'd give him 48 hours, and then they were going to review his account. And if he didn't remove the videos, that they would then.

Um Potentially remove them themselves or remove his account entirely. This had happened to others: Restored Hope Network, which helps people deal with unwanted same-sex attraction, and also with NARTH, National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. They removed their videos. Vimeo did.

Well David wrote back. and said this, December 12th, last year, you must have the wrong account. We're an award-winning Christian ministry that only posts content that helps people, not hurts them. We never defame anyone. We never incite hatred or depict violence of any kind.

Our message has been one of love from start to finish. Our videos help sexual abuse victims. People have been sex trafficked. those who are addicted or in any other condition that causes them distress. We are constantly receiving professional awards and commendations from people who have been helped by the world-class experts who populate our videos.

Please cite any video that does otherwise and we'll have a second look. It'd be a shame to remove the hundreds of videos that help people in very desperate circumstances, some of whom have even claimed to have been prevented from suicide. about the messages of hope. The reproduce.

Someone wrote back the next day and said, um So this It seems that a number of your videos go against the Vimeo guidelines of we also forbid content that displays a demeaning attitude towards specific groups, including videos that promote sexual orientation change efforts. Forbidden. God of light, hear our cry, send a fire. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. All right, so did you get this, Fred? Vimeo. Said this.

Remio said that. That when you talk about people changing. Right, sexual orientation change efforts, as it's technically called, S-O-C-E. If you're promoting that, that is then demeaning. Other groups.

So, presumably, if you're telling someone that they can change, that they don't have to be same-sex attracted. that you are now demeaning those who are self-same-sex attracted.

So I I I mean to me that would ban Alcoholics Anonymous. Because don't their videos demean alcoholics saying I don't want to be an alcoholic anymore, you have to be anonymous? Or weight loss videos wouldn't be welcome because they say in the overweight, right? I want to lose weight, or testimonies of effective debt reduction strategies wouldn't be welcome because they shame those in debt. Or Christian converts from Islam, testimonies from those wouldn't be welcomed.

He said, the shames Muslims, right? I used to be a Muslim, not anymore. That's wrong, religion. Of course, all those videos that they have on Vimeo. Why?

Because they don't deal with this issue of homosexuality or bisexuality or transgenderism. They don't deal with the issue of saying God has a better way.

So Foster wrote back and said this, David Kyle Foster, Pure Passion TV, wrote back to Vimeo. Again, you have the wrong account. We help people. We are not a promoter of reparative therapy. Nor do we support or recommend forced or coerced healing of any kind.

Our videos simply allow people who are struggling with sexual brokenness of any kind a place to tell their story. These are often people who have been sexually abused or otherwise traumatized, and giving them a voice can sometimes rescue them from self-harm. There is nothing in the videos you cite that encourages reparative therapy that demeans anyone. We do not allow people in our videos to speak demeaningly or disparagingly of anyone. In fact, we provide life-transforming hope for people who are at risk of harming themselves because of people who have mistreated them or cast outs on their personal journey.

The testimonies of people who have been significantly helped by our videos is practically endless. Why would anyone want to censor such a voice for the broken and helpless? And Vimeo wrote back, this is last December, and said, thank you for the further explanation. You will not need to remove your videos at this time. Please do keep our guidelines in mind for any future uploads.

They dodged a bullet, right? Nah, just for a moment.

So March 16th, the cycle started again. Vimeo said you've got one week to remove the offending videos. And he wrote back saying, No, no, the matter has been rev resolved. He received a letter from a fellow named Sean, who explained, Your statement equating homosexuality to sexual brokenness. betrays the underlying stance of your organization.

To put it plainly, we have We don't believe that homosexuality requires a cure and we don't allow videos on our platform that espouse this point of view. Friends, this is Vimeo.

Now I give you action points, things you can do.

So I don't just say we're going to boycott them. I'll give you action points at the end of my article.

So read it. It's up at thelineofire.org. Vimeo declares war on gospel transformation. All right. Sean from Vimeo goes on, please remove any and all videos that discuss homosexuality as a condition requiring healing.

We also consider this basic viewpoint to display a demeaning attitude towards a specific group, which is something that we do not allow. That's why David Foster called this pure religious bigotry and censorship.

So Vimeo is forbidding you from agreeing with the Bible. when it comes to human sin and brokenness. Vimeo is forbidding you from preaching the gospel of transformation when it comes to homosexuality. Vimeo is engaging in blatant, apologetic, aggressive, anti-Christian censorship. And David Foster wrote to me privately, he pointed out that Vimeo allows, quote, videos of terrorists and pornographers.

You had to put Jihad in their search bar and you get 2,233 selections. Put Lust plus Vimeo in a Google search and one option is a porn filmmaker site among 288 other sites containing 2,872 videos. Google Rate Plus Video and you get 2,817 videos. Google Teen Rape plus Vimeo and you get at least one rape video, and on and on and on it goes.

So David Foster protested once more to Vimeo. Quote, I don't understand this. We have always been highly respectful of every group that is mentioned in our videos, and by no means do we demean anyone. The homosexuals whose personal testimony we have featured have all testified to multiple levels of sexual brokenness, as do many that you'll find featured in articles on Huffington Post, The Advocate, The Dr. Phil Show, Oprah, and many other gay affirming venues, including childhood sexual abuse, porn addiction, etc.

I'm not sure why you feel that homosexuals talking about what has happened to them is in any way threatening or demeaning of others. Vimeo responded by further explaining that, quote, referring to homosexuality as a dysfunction of sexual brokenness or sexual distortion is not okay. nor is reference to the fact that, quote, God can't transform the life of anyone caught in homosexual confusion. This is forbidden on Vimeo. out of their own mouth.

And Vimeo said, look, I understand the desire to not be lumped in with the more vocally hateful anti-gay activists, and I can see nothing based on the videos I've reviewed that suggest an overtly vitriolic approach.

However, even respectful advocacy of sexual orientation change efforts is something that we do not allow on our platform. Um So bottom line. Fimeal said this. I've never suggested you are less than kind at an individual level to specific homosexuals. That said, Vimeo disagrees wholeheartedly with the notion that homosexuality is a form of brokenness.

or something that requires healing, or something that people need to seek freedom from. In other words, to repeat again, throw out what the Bible says about homosexuality, throw out what the Bible says about human sin and brokenness, throw out what the Bible says about freedom in Jesus, throw it all out. Vimeo does not welcome that point of view. And on March 24th, all 850 videos, count them, 850. They were all removed from Vimeo and the Pure Passion account was shut down.

Please, friends. Help me get this message out on behalf of my colleague David Kyle Foster. Again, here's what you do. Share the article first you want to read it. And then you want to share it with others.

We give you a link where you can write to Vimeo and ask them to restore the account. We encourage you to subscribe to Pure Passion's YouTube channel or just search for Pure Passion TV. online so you can connect with them there. Consider getting a copy of their Such Were Some of You DVD. And as I said, share this article with a friend.

And then pray. that the message of freedom and liberty in Jesus from all brokenness and sin. We do not discriminate against homosexual men and women or those who identify as bisexual or transgender and say, no, we leave you out. We discriminate against you by leaving you out. and we focus only on heterosexuals.

No, everyone gets included. All of us outside of Jesus are broken and in need of salvation, healing, forgiveness, transformation. Pray that the message of freedom and liberty in Jesus would be proclaimed even more powerfully and loudly in the days ahead. And Navimeo's efforts to silence a powerful ministry, along with other excellent ministries and organizations, amplify this ministry's message. That is my prayer, and I ask you to join with me.

And again, what you can do is real simple. Go to thelineofire.org, look at the latest article, Vimeo Declares War on Gospel Transformation. Act on the action points at the end. At the very least, write to Vimeo and share the article with a friend. It won't take long.

Together, friends, we'll make a difference. And in the process, we awaken our own souls as well. And we awaken our own souls to the fact that there are many hurting people all around us who need the gospel, the gospel of liberty, transformation, forgiveness, many wounded people, heterosexual, homosexual, alike for whom Jesus died. Let us stand tall. Let us not.

Let us Not. turn away from sharing the truth loudly and clearly.

Alright friends, out of time here, but again, be sure to go to the website thelineoffire.org. I'm always encouraged because Jesus is Lord. My bottom line today... Is not now the time to stand and act and speak? If not now?

When?