State of the Nation Update

Welcome to God First with Brian C. Thomas, a program committed to encouraging you to put God first while viewing life through the window of the Bible. Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, let's join Brian C. Thomas for today's message. Well, greetings in the name of our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My name is Brian Thomas, and I thank you for joining me today on the God First Podcast. We are going to discuss the topic that is in the forefront of most people's minds in this nation and even across the world today, and that is what we've seen taking place in this year of 2020.

It's definitely been a very interesting, a very intriguing year, to say the least, with so many different things taking place. And I have today with me, Pastor Bill Jenkins from Destinyland Church in California. And he's coming on to talk with us about the state of things, sort of give us an update.

We had them on last, about five months ago when this pandemic was just cranking up, getting into high gear, and we've seen other things taking place since then. And so I want to join, have Pastor Bill, I want to thank you for joining us today as you're giving us some time to talk about these subjects and just welcome you to the podcast. Well, thank you, my friend. Always good to be with you and looking forward to the time we have together today.

All right, thank you. So again, we talked with you last, about five months ago, and the COVID-19 pandemic was just getting started here in the US. And so can you update us on the pandemic and how it has affected your church in your area since we last talked? You know, everything in California is sort of shut down.

So, you know, they opened it up for just a little bit and then they shut it back down again. And as far as our church, I mean, we're not able to, you know, have basically like indoor services, but we are not letting that stop us from getting the word out. And so we're doing everything that we can through social media, through streaming, through doing some things outdoors if necessary. You know, I think a lot of this, if we look at it correctly, if we really allow it to, can cause us to be better and not better if we'll use the mind that God has given us and really think of some creative ideas to expand our ministry instead of letting this thing decrease our ministry.

Yeah, yeah, that's well said. Because when I look at what is happening, and I think to your point is that it has really forced a lot of churches to, if you want to still get the word out, and that should be your desire to still take the gospel to the nations, the Great Commission. You know, it's forced us to look at other means. And so many have gone online. You know, our ministry, we've been online for 10 years, but there are some ministries that had not been.

So it really forced them, if they wanted to continue in any way, to find the ways to get online, to learn it and to expand. And even for churches that were already online in ministries, parachurch ministries, they found ways to even expand it. So I see things happening is quite interesting, but it reminds me of the early church in which during the time period of persecution, the church grew at its highest rate. And that's not to say that during this pandemic, the church is under persecution.

Some would argue that some of these executive orders is a persecution against the church. That's sort of to be debated. But you see that that has there has been an expansion of the gospel going to various places through means of online. So I'm definitely with you on that. And I'm really glad to see what people are doing.

And like you said, have the mindset of looking at this as opportunities to expand rather than complain or become bitter about what's taking place. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, I'm sometimes, you know, trolling the Web and looking at different churches, checking out Web sites. And I'm amazed at how many churches don't even have Web sites.

Yeah. So they are being forced to sort of, you know, either, you know, get in and do this, expand their ministry through social media. Because whether we like it or not, that's sort of what everything is going through anyway. And so, you know, we are seeing more churches get involved and do Web sites, get involved and do streaming. We have helped churches do streaming so that they can expand and keep their ministry going.

Like you said, you've been doing it for 10 years. We've been doing it a long time ourselves. And so, you know, we weren't really caught off guard with the streaming stuff. We have good people that, you know, are in our church.

And I have an awesome wife who knows all of that stuff so she can, you know, help us. But I think if we're if we are wise as serpents and harmless as doves, I think we can really allow God to expand our ministry during this challenging time. Yes. Amen. Amen. Always look at that silver lining.

Look at the positive side of it. So what are your thoughts? You're in California. And as you mentioned, the governor there is ordered sounds like shut shut down of everything. So what are your thoughts if you are willing to share with us as much as you're comfortable with concerning the state of things and where the governor stands with the church? And for that matter, I guess with all business entities in that state. Well, how about no matter what I say, I'm going to blame you for asking the question, is that OK?

That's fine. Here's the thing. You know, you know, we have a First Amendment right in the United States of America to assemble together and to, you know, have, you know, worship to the Lord. I understand we're in the middle of a pandemic, but, you know, church people are not you know, they're not non careful. We're careful.

But we also have an obligation to sort of follow the rules and the laws of the land. So the church is in a tough spot. And so it's been very challenging. You know, my flash, my, you know, street Chicago side says, hey, let's fight this thing and let's, you know, cause a stink and let's create a war and let's cause a revolution.

But the bottom line is I'm not so sure that, you know, that is going to be a good place for me to focus in my energy and efforts. And so what we're trying to do is focus in our energy and efforts into expanding our ministry, get more people to watch us via streaming. We do radio programs. I do a minute that matters every single day on social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube.

It's just a one minute little video devotional. So we're finding ways to sort of combat this. You know, the Bible tells us we wrestle not against flesh and blood. So ultimately, our battle is not with the governor. Our battle is not with the government.

Our battle is against the enemy, against principality, power, rules of darkness, spiritual wickedness in high places. And that's what we need to focus in on and not allow things like the governor's, you know, or the government to distract us from our focus. And so do I like every decision that the governor's made?

Absolutely not. But he's also the governor and the Bible tells us we have to respect those in authority. And, you know, it's not so much that we're not willing to go against the governor is that I'm not willing to lose my witness with people that I haven't had the opportunity to reach because they think we're rebellious. So I don't want to come across the people that we're trying to reach in a negative way. I still want to be able to have that bridge built so when they need us after this thing is over and it'll end soon, that they will know that Death Lane Christian Center is a great place to come to where they can get school to rule and train to reign in the things of God.

Yes, yes. Yeah, that's an excellent perspective because, again, you see people on both sides of the debate. We know there are some pastors that have chosen to defy the governor's orders and open anyway in California and in some other places of the country. Right now, here in my state, we do not have a governor's order that churches cannot open that was in place at one point in time. But then there was a lawsuit that was made by a collection of pastors. And so they decided to back off of that order and allow churches to assemble in order to sort of basically keep this lawsuit from going forward. So things are sort of still a bit in flux. But for the most part, the majority of churches in my area are still not opening.

They're making that decision themselves and for the ones that have opening from had have open for what I've been told, the majority are having less than a 50 percent turnout. But to your point that again, like we stated earlier, we can still get the word out, we can still get the gospel out. And I know there are people out there that argue and say we should be allowed to assemble. And I certainly get the scriptures in which it talks about failed not to assemble. I totally understand that. But at the same time, we is not as though we are being told we cannot preach the gospel.

We still have the means to do so on the Internet, social media, radio, all kinds of means that we have at our hands. And and I think that it is showing us now that we can do that and use those means to to go even further with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And and I like that. I think I'm sorry. Go ahead. Well, I just said I think even when this stuff is over, if we're doing the right thing now, you know, it's easy for me to fight. I'm a fighter by nature. I mean, you know, I don't mind.

I'm not afraid of anything. I'm a confrontationalist, you know, but the bottom line is I don't know if that's being a good witness. And so, you know, my thing is to reach the people around me.

I'm in a liberal state. And so, you know, I'm trying to do everything I can to keep the word out there, tell people about the Lord, show them the love of God through other things that we can do. And when this is all over, think about it. We'll be able to assemble on our churches and we're going to be able to combine that. And we have been doing this or you have been, but we're going to be able to expand it even more. So it's going to give us a greater platform and a greater opportunity to minister minister the word for more people.

And that ought to be our goal in the long run. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. We should come out of this more and even stronger and more robust church. So I certainly agree with you on that.

Now, there are those out there. There's a lot of things when it comes to this pandemic of it being politicized. And that's unfortunate because when it comes to the health of the nation, when it comes to the health of society for humankind, everyone should be in it for the best interest. I understand there are going to be different opinions.

You can go to two different doctors for a particular illness and they may give you two different opinions as to how to treat it. So they're still giving their best effort. But we see now there is some obvious politicizing going on in terms of between the political parties as to what should be done and what should not be done. Do you personally believe that there is fear mongering going on when it comes to this pandemic?

I do. You know, when you ask me a question like that, the truth, you know, is inside, you know, of me or at least my opinion of the truth. And yeah, I do think I matter of fact, you know, there are millions of people who have, you know, you know, you know, got the virus. But there are a million more. There's millions and millions more that are being negatively affected by fear.

And so I think I just reached a message on Sunday at Deathland Christian Center. And, you know, I talked about fear and how, you know, fear is the root of unbelief. And, you know, fear, if you're not careful, can become a sin. In Revelation 21, eight, the first thing that's mentioned there is fearful people.

People don't like to think about fear being a sin, but although it may not start out initially as a sin, if you allow fear to continue to rule and dominate your life and dictate your decision, ultimately fear can become a sin, just like the other sins that I mentioned there in Revelation 21, verse 8. And so we have to be careful to not allow fear to create even a greater pandemic. This virus is bad.

I do think it's real. I do think that we need to take precautions. I think we need to, you know, wash our hands. But to be honest with you, I think we need to wash our hands before this pandemic and after this pandemic.

I think we need to, you know, clean our houses and clean our churches and, you know, sanctify them in more than one way. You know, I think a lot of this stuff, you know, is stuff that just, you know, just because you have the Holy Spirit doesn't mean you throw common sense out the window. Some of this stuff is common sense, even wearing some of the masks. You have people say, well, it doesn't help. Well, it does help. Well, listen, if you know, you think you can spare help or, you know, maybe keep someone else from getting it, just wear the mask.

I mean, it's not my favorite thing. And I think the mask is going to kill me before COVID does some days. But the bottom line is, I think we need to be, you know, careful to make sure that we are following some of the guidelines in order to protect others.

Even if we don't feel like we're going to get it ourselves. And as a matter of fact, I think way more people out there have had the COVID, you know, back in November, back in December, before the testing ever came out. A lot of people died and they were sick then. I think the numbers are even higher than what they're telling us on the news. But the bottom line is just be, you know, a person that takes precaution, but, you know, don't allow fear to rule your life to the point where it becomes something that's going to negatively affect you and dictate every decision and rule your mind and cause you to just shut down totally in every single way. Because I see people who are being ruled more by fear than anything else. And I think whether it be individuals or whether it be political parties, everybody's trying to gain an advantage. That's not what this time is about. It's not about our own personal agendas or our personal opinions. Let's just do what's right. Not just for us, but for everybody. Understanding we always do what is best, you know, for everyone.

We never do what's best for just one. Well said, well said. And the Bible tells us that God has not given us the spirit of fear. So if you're just now joining us, I am talking with Pastor Bill Jenkins of Destinyland Church in California. And we are discussing the things that are taking place here in 2020.

We've been speaking about the coronavirus pandemic and we're going to come back on the other side of a break and talk about the other hot item, which is the racial tension in America. Stay tuned to the God First program. You are listening to Brian C. Thomas on God First. For more of Brian's teachings, please visit Godfirst.org to browse our extensive library of material. There you will find devotionals, blogs, articles and audio messages available as MP3 downloads on various topics such as salvation, Bible prophecy, marriage and the significance of Lesson Israel.

Just to name a few. You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter and visit our Web store. So please visit us at Godfirst.org. Now, let's return to the conclusion of today's message. Welcome back to the God First podcast.

My name is Brian Thomas and I am joined today by Pastor Bill Jenkins. And we are discussing the state of things in our nation, in the world when it comes to this pandemic and how it has affected so many. And then the other big item and there have been several this year, you know, 2020 has just been a year.

This just makes your head spin. But the other thing that we've seen in the forefront is the racial tension, the rioting, the lawlessness. There's just so many things that have blown up in the country over the last several months, even in the midst of this pandemic. So, so, Pastor Bill, what are your thoughts? I mean, I'm just going to leave it wide open to to share your thoughts, your feelings as to what is going on with the rioting, the looting and all of this division and lawlessness that we see in our nation.

Well, you're really trying to get me in trouble today. So, you know, I love it, you know, but listen, all of this stuff is heartbreaking to me. You know, we see this stuff happening. It's been going on my entire lifetime. I have hope in the Lord, but, you know, I'm not so sure I have a lot of hope in people.

So I'm not sure it's going to end anytime soon until we come to the point where all of us stop pointing the finger and start drawing a circle and saying, hey, let's do our part. I was born and raised in Chicago. I hung out with more Hispanic and black people than I ever did white people. I didn't even know there was racism in a lot of ways until I went to Bible school in Texas.

And then, wow, my eyes were open. It seems strange, but, you know, that's the way that I lived my life when I was born and raised in the city of Chicago. And so we see all these protests and I'm not against protests. I think people have a right to protest. But when they take it to the next level and they start looting and damaging and hurting other businesses and people, people who, you know, businesses they probably went to and bought stuff from before. Now they're going in and taking whatever they want to. We don't have a right to do that. I think we have to raise a moral standard and we have to raise, you know, sort of a standard in our government with our police, not let these people get away with this stuff. If we let them get away with it, they're only going to be doing more. So I think we have to be very careful in the days that we live in to do whatever we can to make sure that lawlessness does not prevail. The Bible tells us in the last days that there's going to be great lawlessness. We're seeing that happening. And, you know, the racial divide in our world seemingly to me is getting wider.

But we need to do our part to bring people together. Listen, to be totally honest with you, I know good white people. I know bad white people. I know good black people. I know bad black people. I know good police officers. I know bad police officers. I know good pastors.

I know bad pastors. We could go on and on. It's not about a certain group or type or color or race of people.

It's just about that individual person or that individual group themselves. So I think we need to come together. You're my brother.

You still bleed red blood. It doesn't matter what color you are. And I am. I love your heart. I love your voice.

I think you need to be doing voiceovers and making millions of dollars because you're awesome. I don't care what color you are. It makes no difference to me. You know, you treat me with respect.

I treat you with respect. And that's the way it ought to be. You know, we have in the Deathland Christian Center, we have a melting pot of people. We have black people. We have Hispanic people. We have people of every race, color and creed. And that's what I like. I don't want an all white church because white people can be boring. And so I love to preach to the mix and to the color.

And I love to preach, you know, and get those amens and get those responses. And so there's good and bad in every different group or type of people. And we need to learn how to accept the fact that we can be one and not be the same.

Me and my wife have been married 22 years. We are one, but we're not the same. And the big difference is I'm a man.

She's a woman. You and me. We are one in the eyes of the Lord, regardless if anybody understands it or not. You may be of one race, top of another. Who cares?

We're still one. If I see an injustice, injustice to me is colorblind. I don't care.

I don't care what it is. If it's to the white race, black race, to a woman, to a man, to a kid, it doesn't matter. And so let's stand up for what is right. Let's do the right thing. Let's put allowing the media or other people to dictate to us what we need to do. And let's come together. I mean, it seems sort of corny, but let's come together under the umbrella of God with love in our hearts and learn how to get along with one another, because that's not only a command of God, but that's our obligation as a people in the United States of America. Yeah, those are those are great words of wisdom.

Excellent words of wisdom. Yeah, I see what's taking place. And as you mentioned earlier in the in the podcast that we have to recognize who our true enemy is and the enemy, the true enemy is the devil.

And he tries to do all kinds of schemes to get us against one another. And so many people fall for it. And I tell people, why do we have in the forefront of our minds that things are racially motivated? I think there's so many assumptions that people think the motive for doing something is racism. And like you stated, when I saw the George Floyd incident, which is what has kicked all of this off in this country, my thought was, well, there's just the inhumane treatment of another human being.

It did not cross into my mind or factor into my mind of, oh, well, a white man is doing that to a black man, so it must be racism. But of course, we see the narrative, the media and so many. And what's really troubled me, Pastor Beale, is that I've seen a lot of pastors in churches who also jump to that narrative to automatically assume that everything is racially motivated. And I just say we'll fall in human beings. We're going to have some differences. We're going to have conflicts. It does not mean every time we have a conflict simply because we are of a different race that that means is motivated by racism.

And so what you stated was was definitely well said, great words of wisdom. And you mentioned Chicago where you're from. I mean, what are your feelings as far as I just hear the news coming out of Chicago with the shootings and in the children, it seems like the ages keep getting younger and younger. I even heard just a week or two ago, a 10 month old that was killed from just random shooting, senseless shooting. What do you feel about what do you see going on in Chicago today? Well, it's heartbreaking. I mean, when I was a kid, it was bad, but it's nowhere near what it is today.

And so you see all this stuff going on, you hear it on the news. I lived on a really good side of town in Chicago. I live eight blocks from Wrigley Field and I'm a big Cubs fan. But I had to travel through seven gang perps on a city bus to get to school every single day. And honestly, I had friends. I never was a part of a gang, but I had friends in different gangs, the Latin Disciples. I mean, the Latin Kings, the Black Disciples, different gangs.

I had friends in those gangs. And so, you know, you see the war. It's really a war that's going on that, you know, we need to stop by in some way.

Whenever I go back to Chicago, it's like going to a foreign country because it's so different than when I was a kid. And I just wish something could be done. I wish we could step things up, but not just to stop the crime. I think that's where we go wrong in America. We always want to prevent things. We always want to stop them. You know, we always want to arrest people and do all this.

And I'm for that. I think people ought to be punished when they do crime. But I also think that we have to provide some means of opportunity for some of these other people. Back a few years ago, I met with a group of 33 different gang members and tried to tell them how to get involved in the workplace, where maybe they started working at a Burger King, but we would teach them and help them end up to be an owner of that Burger King, to be able to go legitimate in a lot of ways. And so I think we need to provide some good things like that for our society. I think we need to have better reentry programs when people leave the jail, come back into society to help provide a place to live, provide a job, provide some services, provide counseling, whether it be AA or whether it be Celebrate Recovery, some continued services outside of the jail for people who are getting out, and then provide some opportunities for these different groups who are getting involved in this stuff to really have something positive to look forward to in their life. And so it's heartbreaking when you think about a month-old baby getting shot.

You know, obviously they didn't do nothing, and there's just an all-out war going on. And so I think we need more churches, more people, more Christians to rise up, spread the word, get out there, give something positive, provide something for these people to do that can be something good so they don't only have to get in trouble by finding something bad. Absolutely. All right, in the final minutes, will you share with us, we've already touched on it, but share with our listeners concerning what is happening today with the pandemic, with the lawlessness that we see and the return of Christ. I know you are very much in tune to the prophetic word and what the Bible says concerning the return of Christ and the climate. So share with our listeners what you can, concerning that, and also for any who have not yet come to know and accept Jesus Christ, give them a word to why and how they can come to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Wow. Well, man, listen, one of the things that I did during this COVID, like when it first began, is I wrote a book, and the Lord showed me that this was sort of like the beginning of us doing our job to prepare for the coming of the Lord, because I feel like the coming of the Lord is new. So I wrote a book called The Rapture Manifesto, and it's all about Revelation chapter 5 to Revelation chapter 20, and it's a book that can help people who will not make it in the rapture. They have to go through this tribulation, there's still hope, but I'm going to tell you everything that's going to happen.

There's actually 21 judgments that the Bible tells us that people are going to have to go through if they miss the rapture. And so the key, obviously, is to not miss the rapture, to understand that we're all sinners, that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God, and the only one who can help us and save us is Jesus Christ, because of what He did for us on that cross. And so if there are people listening today and your life isn't right with God, if there's something that's keeping you back or holding you from walking in and fulfilling your destiny, there's the reason why you're listening to this program. I know you do a lot of things, we do a lot of things, we're trying to spread the word.

If you're tuning into this broadcast, it's not an accident. God has a divine appointment for you, and it's time that you understand that God is on an all-out search for you. So understand you're a sinner, understand Jesus is the only one who can save you. Ask Him, forgive you of your sins, and be willing to turn from your evil ways. And if you're willing to do that, God is faithful to us, no matter what you've done or how many times you've done, to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all of your unrighteousness.

And so that's the key. We are living in the last of the last days. And so what we've got to do, we've got to be now, us as Christians, we've got to spread the word. If you don't know the Lord, quit playing games and waiting, because time is out. And now is the time to come to the Lord. Today is the day of salvation. So allow the Lord to be the father that maybe you've never had in your life, or the father you wanted to start being a good father to you, starting today. Folks, hear these words, take these words to heart, because the time is near.

Jesus Christ told us what to look for. He said it would be as it was in the days of Noah, when they were just going about their business and they were not paying attention to what would take place. And the judgment came and they were not ready.

They were lost. So get ready for the return of Jesus Christ. Get excited. And I want to encourage any pastors out there that are listening, stress this message in churches. It troubles me that I see so many churches that during this time with what is going on, there is no mention whatsoever concerning the return of Jesus Christ, concerning the second coming. We as believers should be excited about him, seeing him again, seeing him return to this earth and being joined with him. And then for those who are not excited, to me, that makes me say, well, what is there going on with you in your life that causes you not to be excited about Jesus Christ? So, Pastor Bill, I want to thank you for coming on and speaking with us.

It's always good. You have such godly wisdom and it's always an honor to have you on the program. Share with our listeners how they can find the book that you mentioned, along with any other materials that you have, how they can find you online to follow your ministry. Yeah, I wrote a book at the beginning of the year called 2020 Vision. It's sort of a prophetic book that tells you what to expect of God and what God can expect of you in 2020, based upon the number 20 that's mentioned in the Bible 121 times. And then I've written a book this year called The Rapture Manifesto, a book about the end times. But I also have 10 or 12 other books. If you're interested in that, go to pastorbilljenkins.org. You can get any and all of those books. The two latest books are on audiobooks and they're on paperback books.

So you can get either or, or you can get both. We have radio programs on pastorbilljenkins.org. There are 30 minute radio programs called The Prophetic Almanac, where you can listen to those. And we encourage people to connect with us on social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to get what I call my Minute That Matters. It's a one minute little video devotional every single day, Monday through Friday. That is an awesome little thing. People absolutely love it.

So it's on every social media platform you can think of. So please check it out for the pastorbilljenkins.org. You can hit the little icon and you can get that little Minute That Matters every single day. Plus you can get all of my books and listen to our radio programs there on pastorbilljenkins.org. Thank you for having me, man.

I love your heart, your fire, your passion, really. You're an awesome man. We appreciate what you're doing to the Lord. Thanks for having me on today.

All right. Well, thank you so much for those words of support and encouragement. And certainly you are certainly a godly man that has so much godly wisdom. And I pray that God will continue to expand your ministry because what you're stating, definitely the world needs to hear. So thank you.

And to our listeners, I want to thank you for joining us as we close. Remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless God's great nation of Israel until the only wise God be glory through Jesus Christ forever.

Amen. You've been listening to the Bible teacher, Brian C. Thomas, founder and president of God First. Brian and God first reserve all copyright protection under applicable law. Our copyright policy is available at our website, God first dot org. Until next time, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless God's great nation of Israel and seek first the kingdom of God. Thank you.