Interview with JJ Jasper

TNG Radio, where today's culture and timeless truths come together.

It's reasoned, relevant content apologetics, worldview, and answers to the questions that you need to know. From Alex McFarland Ministries, this is Truth for a New Generation Radio. And now, the man who preached in 50 states in 50 days, speaker, writer, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland.

Acts 1a says, You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. I'm going to elaborate on that verse in a moment, but I welcome you to this edition of TNG Radio, Truth for a New Generation. Alex McFarland here, and I am so excited about a friend I want you to meet in just a moment.

This has really been a long time in the making. The person that I want to introduce you to, I've had in my mind to bring on the show for a long time, and we've just now gotten around to doing it. But let me give you the full context of this verse, and then I want to give you a full introduction to our guest. Acts 1a is very interesting, because it says, You will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. Now, the word for power there—I'm sure you've probably heard preachers talk about it—it's the word for ability power, dunamis, obviously, from which we get the word dynamite.

You will receive dunamis, power. And the word there is really ability power. But do you know more than 200 times the New Testament uses the word power? And God says that he imparts to his church power. Now there's the ability power, but do you know there's another word, very fascinating, Matthew 28, 18-20, Jesus has risen, he's about to ascend back to heaven, and he says, All power is given to me in heaven and earth, and he imparts that to the church. Now it's very fascinating, listen to this, the word in Matthew 28 for power is not ability power like Acts 1a, but authority power.

Fascinating. It's the word from which we get the word jurisdiction. Now think about it. This world is God's turf.

Jurisdiction. And God says to the church more than 200 times, I'm giving you authority power, I'm giving you ability power to be his witnesses. Now, somebody that is a great witness for the gospel, he's an amazing representative of our Lord, and he's just a great person, his name is J.J. Jasper, and I'm so thrilled, for the first time ever, and it certainly won't be the last, but for the first time ever, we've got J.J. Jasper on TNG radio. He's a veteran, morning, on-air radio personality, he's a best-selling author, he's a dedicated Christian, he's built a great family, and so J.J., it's good to have you on the program, and it's good to just follow what God is doing in your life.

What a privilege. I could say the very same things about you, Alex, as far as how genuine and authentic you are. I hope everyone's doing well. Due to a mix-up of pills on the kitchen counter this morning, it looks like I'm not going to have to worry about heart worms for the next 90 days, but that's okay. I'm glad to be here, and what a joy to be a guest on your show. Oh, wow.

Well, good to know. I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. And you and your dear wife, Melanie. Melanie, and we have seven children, and yeah, the Lord has been so good to us.

He's been better to us than we deserve. He's faithful, and you were talking about that verse. What a privilege to be able to share the gospel and tell people that Jesus is a life changer.

Well, amen. And part of the reason that I was bringing up Acts 1-8, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the outermost parts of the earth, the church is to have a ladle in many different pots. We're witnesses locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, but you're a man that wears different hats, too. You are a writer, you're a broadcaster, you're funny, I mean, you're a comedian, but you've also got a very serious message that we'll get to. But who is J.J. Jasper, this multi-layered servant of the King? I grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky.

A.B. student, fair athlete, paper boy, great parents, not a Christian family per se. My grandmother had the biggest influence in my life, sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ. She taught Sunday school for over 50 years.

Long story short, after high school, I moved in with my grandmother. It was just as far as making all the wrong decisions with drugs, alcohol, dating, just at the bottom of the barrel. An uncle, who I looked up to, was very, very religious. He was on all the committees. He was very active in his church. He was born again. He received Christ into his life, which seemed strange because he was the most religious person I knew. And now he's saying, I've been transformed.

I realized my need for God, repented of my sins, received Jesus Christ into my heart and life by faith. He had the biggest smile, the most joy. His life wasn't perfect. But from a distance, I saw his marriage improve. I saw the joy. I saw him sharing the Gospel with others because of the boldness of my uncle and because of my grandmother's prayers. And I was living with her. And at this point, I was at the lowest point in my life, but because of my uncle, who would share. It's not religion.

It's a relationship. It's about knowing Jesus. And he would talk about Jesus like he was his next-door neighbor. He would say, you know, I was talking to the Lord this morning, and he laid this in my heart. The Lord told me to go and share the Gospel with this person. His life was bearing fruit.

His relationship with the Lord was dynamic. So because of my uncle, Paul Gatewood, because of my grandmother, Gatewood, because of her prayers and watch her always serving someone, taking meals to people who were sick, going to the hospital, teaching Sunday school, the love she had for the Lord. When I was a young man, 19 years old, I got down on my knees and did what my uncle talked about. I realized my need for God, humbled myself, repented of my sins, and received Jesus Christ into my heart and life by faith.

Now, when I was 12 years old, I walked the aisle. A lot of you may understand what that means. And that seemed sincere. But at 19, I either... It became reality.

That's right. I was either born again or at least rededicated my life to the Lord. But that's when my life changed. And I can look back as a 19-year-old and see that old things were passed away. Behold, all things became new.

I mean new friends, new attitudes, new wants and desires, and I haven't gotten over it. Jesus is a life changer. Folks, stay tuned. We're going to come back here on today's edition of Truth For A New Generation Radio with our very special guest, J.J. Jasper.

Don't go away. Peace forecasts and predictions are sometimes accurate, but there's an information source that is much more certain. It's the Bible. Bible prophecies are not sometimes true.

They are always absolutely true. There are more than a thousand prophecies in the Bible, and as no Bible prophecy has been shown to be in error, we can therefore have absolute confidence that the 100 or so prophecies yet to be fulfilled, including the rapture, will unfold exactly as predicted in scripture. Visit IAmAWatchman.com for an abundance of free information on the important topic of Bible prophecy. Be bold. Be faithful. Be a watchman.

IAmAWatchman.com. First Peter 3.15 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have. We're instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the Life Answers Teams, students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The Life Answers Teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams we train speak in churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times from a biblical perspective. Like is there a God?

Is the Bible true? What about gender and moral issues? Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers Team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

864-977-2008 and always be ready. Christians don't necessarily agree with one another when it comes to questions of religious pluralism, homosexuality, the role of government, abortion and war. Too often we manage these disagreements by ignoring them. Yet we're called to engage the world for the sake of Christ. How can we be effective if we avoid society's most pressing questions? In 10 issues that divide Christians, Alex McFarland challenges us to drill down to the biblical core of 10 current issues such as social justice, evil and suffering, pornography and environmentalism as he echoes the biblical invitation, come let us reason together. Only by engaging the scriptures deeply, thinking clearly and speaking truthfully can we in God's family address our differences and discover the peace that comes with unity of purpose. 10 issues that divide Christians.

Find this book and many others at AlexMcFarland.com. Timeless truths in a soundbite culture. Truth for a new generation radio. Welcome back to TNG Radio. We're going to continue our conversation with J.J. Jasper. Before we do that, I do want to refer you to the recently redesigned, and we're so excited about it, the TNG website, truthforanewgeneration.com. There's a lot there. There's over 80 questions and answers from listeners. And by the way, we do love to hear from you. And if you have a Bible question, an apologetics worldview question, how do you defend the faith? You can send all that to info, I-N-F-O, info at truthforanewgeneration.com.

And the other tab I want to refer you to is the events tab. The fall is coming. Now listen up. Wherever you are, east, west, if you're listening in the western hemisphere, this is for you. We're going to be in Richmond, Virginia, October 11-12, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Pastor Josh Franklin. Oh, we've got such great friends in Richmond, Virginia. I think about Bradford Howard. I think about John Seidenstricher. I think about Eileen and Charles Cochran. I think about the great Andy Redford at the Virginia Christian Counseling Center.

Amazing. And all of my big Richmond friends, you know who I'm talking about. But we're coming to Richmond with a Truth for a New Generation event October 11-12. And it's a Friday night all day Saturday.

This is kind of our format. Friday night we have several speakers like Todd Starnes from Fox News and other great speakers, people like Miki Addison and Abe Hamilton III of the American Family Association. But Friday night is very evangelistic because we say, you know, you can't defend the faith if you don't have the faith. So before we go any farther, a Friday night TNG is very evangelistic. But then all day Saturday we do apologetics and how do you share Christ with an atheist?

What about creation versus evolution? What about the moral issues of our day? What about the Bible?

Can you trust that the Bible is the Word of God? And how do we in the 21st century where America and the West has become really almost militantly secular, how do we present, explain, defend the Gospel? But then in November we're going to be in Ohio, November 15-16, landmark Baptist church, Cincinnati, Ohio.

So you can go to the website truthforanewgeneration.com, truth f-o-r truthforanewgeneration.com. Listen, we generally have people come from 25-26 states and this could be the event where people either come to the Lord or maybe even come back to the Lord. Bring a skeptic. Bring your kids. Bring your church staff. But go to Truth For A New Generation and America, we want to see you as we close out a big year of ministry. Much, much the Lord has done in 2019. But we can't wait to come to Richmond.

We can't wait to come to Ohio. And so pray, promote, plan to attend. It's all at truthforanewgeneration.com. Well without further ado, I want to resume our conversation with J.J. Jasper. His website is jjjasper.com. And I've got to ask you, brother, the initials, J.J., does it stand for Joyful in Jesus? What does J.J. stand for? I've heard it all. Jumpin' Jehoshaphat.

No, it's just pretty simple. James Jasper early on. Anytime you have a J first name and a J last name, if you have a Jenny Johnson or a Jim Jackson, they almost always get called J.J., and that was the case for me. So no big mystery. James Jasper.

Wow. And you know, before the break we were talking about how at age 19 God really got a hold of your life. And if there's one thing that I could say characterizes you, it's joy.

Had Edison not invented the light bulb, not to worry. J.J. Jasper has a joyful countenance that could have lit up a city. I really believe that. Have you always been that upbeat, sunshiny person that you are, brother?

I was the class clown, and laughter is good medicine. That's a gift the Lord gave me early on. But you know, we were talking about testimony.

Oh, I'm so thankful that I met Jesus, that I had an encounter with the living Lord, and He's given me a joy that's so much different than all the counterfeit that the enemy has. But yeah, so I just sort of started in ministry early, almost immediately after becoming a Christian and worked with young people a lot. Fast forward, I got in Christian radio, and I've been doing mornings since I started way back in 1985 at one Christian station, was there for five years, WCFB. Started with American Family Radio in summer of 1991, and have been doing mornings since then. I was going to ask you, how long have you been with the American Family Association? Yeah, neat little trivia. On the very first day, when they flipped the switch, I was the guy that said, good morning.

Really? And so I guess that makes me old, even though I don't feel that old. Well, you don't look old. But since 1991, I've had the privilege just to be a cheerleader for Jesus. We have almost 200 stations in 36 states. And along the way, as you mentioned, I do standup comedy, speak at banquets, and crisscross the country. A couple of weeks ago, I was in Illinois, the week before that, Ohio, the week before that, Georgia. And just a joy, so rewarding to make people laugh, to be at men's ministry events, wild game suppers, pregnancy resource center, annual fundraisers.

I do a lot of those throughout the year. And you know that verse in Ephesians where it says, the Lord can do exceeding abundantly more than we can ask or think, more than we can ask or imagine? That's my testimony, Alex. God has been so good to me and my family, more than we could ever ask or imagine. You know, wouldn't you believe, for the people listening, number one, God wants them to have a personal relationship with Christ.

I mean, that's step one, is to open your heart and be born again. But God wants to do more in us and through us than we could ever dream. Folks, we're going to have to pull away for a brief break, and then you're going to hear a story.

I guarantee, the single most compelling story you're going to hear all month, you're about to hear. But Daniel 11.32 says, the people who know their God will be strong and do exploits. J.J. Jasper is a man who knows his God, and he's being used mightily of the Lord because, listen, when you've got Jesus and the Spirit of God indwells you, God will do exploits through your life. We need to get rowdy for Jesus, if I can say that.

And so Daniel 11.32, meditate on that verse. Stay tuned. When we come back, the story of J.J.'s book that the nation is hearing about, and it will be the single most compelling story you hear in a long, long time.

So don't go away. TNG radio continues with J.J. Jasper after this. The TNG Unashamed Conference is coming to Richmond, Virginia, October 11th and 12th. Experience core truths that make for an unshakable faith with Tina Marie Griffin, Todd Starnes, Kamal Shalim, Miki Addison, Chuck Chrismeyer, and William Federer.

Romans 1.16 says, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes. Come to the Truth for a New Generation Conference and get equipped, empowered, and inspired to confidently share the gospel of Jesus Christ. TNG is committed to impacting our nation for Christ and the future, and equipping you to be a difference maker. Register now by calling 877-YES-GOD-1.

That's 877-YES-GOD and the number one. Or visit the TNG website at truthforanewgeneration.com. The TNG Unashamed Conference, Richmond, Virginia, October 11th and 12th.

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That's liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more. For apologetics resources, books by Alex McFarland, and to find out where Alex is speaking, visit truthforanewgeneration.com. Welcome back to TNG Radio.

God bless you. Thank you for listening. We're continuing our conversation with J.J. Jasper, a friend and colleague. He's the on-air morning host of the American Family Radio Network. You're a friend, and again, his website is jjjasper.com. J.J. is a very funny person, just a great, robust communicator. But being a Christian doesn't mean the absence of all pain and problems, does it, J.J.?

J.J. You're exactly right. Love to laugh. Laughter really is the best medicine, as it says in Scripture. But we were rocking along. Our life was marked by travel and ministry, a wonderful church home, just incredible family and friends.

And we rarely had any trouble in our life to speak of until 2008. And if I can share this part briefly, in March of 2008, my father-in-law, who was just larger than life, my wife Melanie is a daddy's girl, he found out he had cancer. And in just a few short weeks, we were attending his funeral.

So he died in March. One week later, my wife Melanie had a miscarriage. And then later, of the same year, on Labor Day, I had a near-fatal horseback riding accident.

I was in the hospital for 59 days, intensive care for seven days, when the doctor came in and told Melanie, if your husband survives the next 48 hours. And she was like, wait, wait, if he survives, this is a horseback riding accident. So from her perspective, imagine this. Her dad, my wife's dad died in March. One week later, she had a miscarriage. Those of you listening, you ladies, you know how horrible and the grief associated with that. So her dad dies.

She has a miscarriage. And her husband almost dies the same year. At the end of the year, we held together as a family. And we just said, you know, this has been the toughest year of our life. But our consolation was, nothing can ever match the trouble we've had.

And we just said, boy. But within a year. And then that's it, the next year. By 2009, you were about to go through a deep valley that most people would find unthinkable. And the book Losing Cooper, Finding Hope to Grieve Well is the story.

I first saw the television special of Flame On, the video. But you had a five-year-old son named Cooper. Right. The joy of your life. We bought a farm, horses, cattle. We were riding in our dune buggy, the short version. We rode up and down this lane.

We bought the dune buggy because it was low to the ground, padded roll bars, padded sidebars. He was buckled in. After riding up and down the road, I was going to do what we always called do a donut. We were through riding, a dad and his boy having fun, a father and son making memories, wind in our hair. I just returned from a trip from Denver. It was Friday. The weekend was here.

The sun was shining. After we rode, I was just going to do a donut. It was level. We were in the pasture. I turned the wheel, floored it, spun around. Then the dune buggy flipped over, and it threw me out. I was not buckled in.

Cooper was still buckled in. The dune buggy was laying on its side. And I can remember, Alex, like it was yesterday when I hit the ground, my very first thought. I thought if I put a scratch on my little buddy, he was my best friend, our only son at the time. I thought if I broke his little arm, I'll never be able to forgive myself. And I raced to the dune buggy.

It was still laying on its side. And just a freak accident in that rollover, it broke his little neck. And on July the 17th, 2009, my only son died in my arms. J.J., what went through your mind when you knew that your five-year-old son was gone and you were out just doing father-son, daddy stuff?

What were your thoughts? Shock, horror, all the things that people say it was surreal, something this catastrophic. This can't happen in the blink of an eye. These things happen to somebody else. This is every parent's worst nightmare.

And you're a man living for the Lord, a good, godly man. And a tragedy comes. Exactly. The darkest day of our life. And I don't have the words in the next few minutes to tell how you just feel like you have a band around your chest. You can't breathe. It's all you can do to put one foot in front of the other the next days and weeks. We're just a blur.

You're in a fog. But I will say His grace is sufficient. God is faithful. That Bible that we trust, the Lord that we put our faith in, those aren't just words on a page.

It really is true. And the lowest point of our life and our darkest day, God is faithful. And Jesus was right there to hold our hand.

He's promised to never leave you, never forsake you. And Jesus is the hero of our story. We're still standing. Our marriage is strong. We're not bitter or angry at God.

We're still going to church. And it's not our strength. When you lose a loved one, it requires supernatural help. And God gave it. And God gave that to us.

So to God be the glory. What compelled you and Melanie to tell your story? Well, AFA leadership approached us only months after the accident.

And they said, we tried to find some resources to help you. There's not a lot out there for parents who have lost a child. In fact, think about this. A woman whose husband dies, she's called a widow. A child who loses his parents, they're called an orphan.

Have you ever thought of it? There's not even a name for parents who lost a child because it's so horrific. It's so unnatural. It's so out of order.

You're not supposed to outlive your children. And so on a Friday afternoon, we were having fun, a daddy and his boy. Saturday, mid-morning, we were at the funeral home, and the funeral director was saying, which one of these caskets do you want for your little boy? All those words about surreal, and this has just got to be a nightmare.

I know I'm going to wake up. AFA approached us. They said they wanted to give us resources.

There wasn't anything to choose from. They said, you haven't turned to drugs or alcohol. Your marriage is still strong.

You still love God. If and when you're able, we want to make a movie. Number one, we want to give it away and not sell it. Number two, we want people to know there's hope on the other side of tragedy. So we did that.

It's called Flame On. You can go to jjjasper.com. It's right there at the bottom of the page. We've given away hundreds of thousands of copies. You know, I'm so sorry that we're out of time, but I want to thank you, and on behalf of listeners throughout the USA, we want to say that we love you. We appreciate you, JJ, and all that you do. And you know, because of all that we have in Christ, you'll see Cooper again. Yes.

Yes. We'll spend more time with him in heaven than we ever did here on earth. Folks, you've been listening to TNG Radio, Alex McFarland, with our very special guest today, JJ Jasper.

And let me just say this. Jesus is what your heart is hungry for. And if you are going through a valley, you need to know that God does love you.

He will never leave you or forsake you. And if you will turn to Christ, he will receive you. He will restore you. And so if you need spiritual help, if we can encourage you in your walk with the Lord, that's what we're here to do through the app, through the website, through all of our events and publishing, truthfornewgeneration.com. Thank you for listening. God bless you. And we look forward to being with you next time. Call us at 877-Yes-God-1.

That's 877-Yes-God and the number 1. Or give online at AlexMcFarland.com. While you're there, listen to program archives, read Alex's blog, invite Alex to speak at your event, or contact Alex with a question or comment. AlexMcFarland.com. Thanks for listening today and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG Radio.