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The power of prayer, the power of generational prayer. We're talking about that today. Who prayed for you? When you were just a little Tyke. Who prayed for you before you were born?
Who prayed for you? When maybe they were a grandparent. jest puttin' their hand. On that On that stomach, on that, on that uh On their daughter's tummy when she was six months pregnant. and prayed a prayer of blessing A prayer of peace A prayer of God's protection.
Well, I'm in the studio today with a grandad Sitting next to him is a grandson, Who? is an answer. To his prayer. And it's so good to talk to you guys.
Now, guys, put your mouth right on that chin. Put your up there. We're going to get your mics on here. We're going to talk to Ken McAvick. And his grandson Nick McAvick, who went on to play college football.
For the UNC Tar Hills had a storied college career. As a center. Man, I tell you, you're taking some blows there, aren't you, man? Nick, and you're still here to tell about it, huh? Yeah, yeah.
Definitely took some hits. Had a couple concussions over the years, but nothing too bad. That's something else, man. We're going to hear about what God has done in your life, and we're going to hear share that. Ken, if you The fact you're even sitting here.
The fact you're even with this guy right here who's following Jesus, tell us how big a miracle that is, man. Oh, it's huge. Absolutely huge still. Yeah. And we do a lot of praying for family members.
praying that God would intervene whenever He needs to. help us and um We pray for their health. We pray for their Newborns. And we pray that a continual relationship with Jesus Christ is maintained. Wow.
And did you ever think this young man, this strapping young man, I mean, he comes in, he's like a Hulk, these big muscles. Did you ever think he would grow up to be a Christ follower and a soul winner? And he's talking about Jesus on a national radio program back when you were praying those prayers when he was tiny. You could barely, you could hold him in one hand, Ken. Yeah.
No, actually, Stu i I never thought like that. Um You know, I just continue to try to set a good example for the family. Introduce uh Biblical scripture and insights from time to time. And continue to ask God to help us grow and become a really good. Christian people that he wanted us to be.
Yeah, amen. Wow. Well, I want to get into your story. I want to get into what happened. What happened to bring you to Christ, Ken?
Someone. Maybe you found a copy of a book or something. What is it about that book? Talk to us about that.
Well, Stu, I had grown up, supposedly, you know, if you will, in the church. Uh A part of the Lutheran religion, the Missouri Synod, which was kind of an old-fashioned. thing and uh not far from uh the Catholic Church actually. And so I was a believer my whole life. Um and I went to church.
But I never had a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, never. Until One night I was in a an apartment with a young lady who I was living with. We were. We were living together. Uh unmarried.
Um no no pledge. For marriage? And we got to talking about Uh the wedding vows that are in the Bible. And she said, Well, that's the ones, if we ever get married, that's the ones I want to use. And I said, Well, there aren't any.
There are no wedding vows in the Bible. She said, Well, you can prove that. I said, Yeah, I'll prove it. It was Sunday night. I'll never forget this.
Sunday night at 9 o'clock. I found an old beat up copy of the New Testament from days in. I sat there at my kitchen table. and read that thing. Minute after minute, hour after hour, I never moved.
I never had anything to eat or drink. She was in the bedroom watching TV. and I was overwhelmed. I was enthralled. I was out of my as I read this.
These are not the things that I had ever heard in church. when Jesus fed 5,000 people. Uh He probably fed more like 20,000 people because in those days the men traveled with their families and their children.
So it wasn't just 5,000.
So then I thought, well, listen, how could this guy do this? He didn't have any equipment, no microphones, nothing. And then the and I'm reading these incredible stories about this guy, and I'm thinking, Who is this guy? Who in the world is this Jesus guy who I don't think I've ever met? And so I read in John.
Where he's walking on the water, Peter goes out, thinks he's going to drown, screams, save me, save me. Jesus reaches out, saves him. I'm thinking, who is this guy? He can suspend the laws of gravity and walk on water.
So he gets in the boat, and guess what happened? Immediately, they were transferred over, transported to the other side of the lake in a split second. And I have to I I I'm writing in the margins, I I'm scrolling down, I'm putting stars by passages that I don't understand, I'm underlining things, and I'm I cannot let this book go. It just had a hold of me. At three o'clock in the morning after six hours, I was blown away.
I was stunned. God had brought me down to a point where I finally understood who this guy was.
So I walked into the bedroom. And I said to this girl, her name was Sonia, I said, Sonia, wake up. She looked up at me and she says, What have you done? Look at your face. You don't, what have you done?
Where have you been? I said, I have been in the kitchen, I have not stopped for six straight hours, and I have read a book. It's I I can't explain it. and I says, We got to get married. She said, Oh, oh, okay, great.
Go to bed. I said, I don't think I can sleep.
So I lay down, I slept for a couple hours.
Now look, let me lay this foundation. I had a lot of cash in the bank, okay? I was a millionaire. I was driving a Rolls-Royce. It was a $175,000 car I paid cash for.
I had Mercedes-Benz in the garage. I wore $60,000, $70,000 worth of jewelry. I wore silk suits. Everywhere I went, I was the guy. Everybody thought, man, Ken McAvik.
Yeah. and I thought so too, until I read that book. And I went out to the car the next morning to try to I put the key in the ignition of the Rolls-Royce, and I couldn't put the key in. I started shaking. My hands was shaking.
My body was shaking. I'm crying. I'm coming apart. I'm totally coming apart. 'Cause I knew that I had to change my life.
I couldn't be. the guy that I had portrayed to be. I was not I s I was not a child of God. I was a f The truth was I was a filthy sinner. and I had to come to grips with that.
And I had to change my life. And it was tough. It didn't happen overnight. I'd go to work and I s I'd go in the bathroom and cry and shake. I I was coming apart.
God was tearing me down and rebuilding me. But I didn't understand it. and it took months. to overcome all this. And that was thirty-two years ago.
And I've never been the same person. It changed my God changed my life. For the better. And I attribute it to the. to the reading of the New Testament.
Cause I couldn't get that. By going to church. Church is wonderful. Everybody should go to church. I still go to church.
But reading God's Word, reading the book, reading the book of Jesus Christ. You want to get to know somebody? Read His book. You want to get to know Jesus Christ inside and out, right down your toenails? Read His book.
It's just that simple. Wow. Read His book. And Stew, I would love nothing more. than to give away a million copies of the New Testament.
all over the world. Whatever it takes, that would be my goal. That would be my dream. That's my passion. That's what I live for.
There's something powerful about that book, and there's something powerful about how it's changed your life. And then we look down generations, two generations. The change that's happened in this young man's life. Who went to play college football and he's walking with Jesus now because of a granddad's prayer and encounter with God through the word of God. Stay tuned.
How have your grandparents prayed for you? How have you seen generational prayer answered in your life? You can call us and share that testimony, that word at 866-34-TRUTH. We'll hear the other side of that by a young 26-year-old who this granddad prayed for after encountering God's Word when we come back on Truth Talk Live. Don't touch that dial.
You're listening to The Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. The generational power of prayer. Who prayed for you when you were just young, little, maybe not even born yet? Generations, we stand on the shoulders of giants who got down on their knees for us. This man of God just shared about how reading the New Testament transformed his life.
He wasn't the same man. As he was six hours later, after sitting there for six hours, I mean, something. That compelling and that titillating drove Ken McAvik to Christ, changed his marriage, changed everything, and literally two generations down the line. Young Nick McAvic has been impacted by those prayers. Nick, I want to hear your story.
I'm going to tell you another story, folks, that'll just kind of encourage you and maybe bring some tears. If you want to weigh in on your generational Power of prayer story. Who prayed for you? Say their name. Let's give them a shout out.
Maybe they're with the Lord now. God's still using those prayers. Even though they're in heaven, the prayers they prayed when they were on this earth are being answered. Through you and your testimony for Christ. You are walking with God today.
Because the impact, the prayer of a godly mom who stayed up late while you were out partying, a godly dad who said, I'm going to pray for this young man that God will change his life. We'd love to hear from you at Dolphrey, 866-348-7884. We want to say thank you to. And I just poured myself in a cup of ice here some Vintastic.com promo code Truth. Thank you to our friends at LaBlue Ultra Pure Bottle Water for making this.
New antioxidant beverage available. I'm just reading the label: no sugar, no carbs, no calories, no artificial sweeteners, and it's loaded with all kinds of things I can't even pronounce. It says here quercetin, it says here all these resveratrol, things that are supposed to be good for you because they believe your body is the temple.
So, thank you, fintastic.com, promo code truth, for being underwriting partners on the Truth Network and for reminding us to take care of our bodies, which is the temple. We're going to go to Nick's testimony. Nick, you hear him pour his heart out about God's word. We have a caller on the line. We'll get him next.
I believe it's a pastor. This is a crazy story. Nick, share what happened to you, man, and how you found Christ as a strapping quarterback in the University of North Carolina. You have the whole life before you've got, I mean, this is a dream to play college sports in the big ACC for huge coaches and all that, but something was missing. Talk about your journey to the Lord in answer to this man's prayers.
Well, I wasn't a quarterback, I was an offensive lineup. Center, but you were close to, you were protecting the quarterback. Protect the asset, right? Yes, sir. And get him the pill so he could throw the ball.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So, much like my grandfather, you know, I thought I knew the Lord. I thought, you know, I was a good Christian, I was a believer. I'd go to church on Christmas and Easter, maybe a few times in between, but other than that, you know.
Um and you know I I would I would pray, but I I wasn't intentional with my prayers. It was routine, it was mundane. Um But while I was at the University of North Carolina, we had a team chaplain. It was, he uh, His name was Mitch Mason. Uh had the biggest impact of anybody Uh Probably ever.
And just one of the best menu-ever meat. Um filled with the Spirit, just Un unreal guy and um He got a diagnosis. I couldn't tell you what his exact diagnosis was, but it was a terminal illness. He's still fighting today, but it's been a journey for him. And you know, as he's Shown up to practice and he's can barely walk and it's he's struggling to talk.
It you know, he never made it about himself. It was ho how you doing? How can I pray for you? And I was like, Wow, what is this guy filled with? I I need what what this guy has.
And that was kind of the first the first intro introduction that I was like maybe I I don't know Jesus the way I thought I did. And um You know, just him being that constant reminder of just Not only did he... Stay in the word, but it deepened his faith. You know, this trial that he was facing, this season of trial that he was facing, this terminal illness, where he didn't even know what it was. You know, he was going all over the country trying to figure out what this disease was, and nobody could really give him an answer.
And he's deepening his faith.
So that was a big thing for me. Just his impact on me and just the example he set. And then also another big thing for me, and I think a lot of people in my generation is the power of social media. And that can go both ways. One thing I've learned is, unfortunately, Satan is very real, and they call him the Prince of the Airways, and that can be tough.
But also, there's a lot of great. Resources, Christian resources on social media. And for me, one of the biggest impacts. was uh Stuart Connectly. Him and his son, they go around and preach at college campuses a lot.
And I saw a lot of his videos, and it really made me more curious. I was like, all right, maybe I need to start reading. Reading some scripture because I never really had before. And then that's when I started reading. I started with Matthew.
And uh, Just a a a transforming Fucking All the gospel is just completely... wrecked my my my worldview. Just like my grandfather was saying, is like, I don't know this Jesus guy at all, like I thought I did. And, you know. Um you start to get into it and uh love it.
It's just the way he spoke no one ever spoke the way he spoke no one did the things that he did um And you know, the more you read, the more compelled, convicted you feel and it's just this overwhelming conviction of like I'm not I'm not doing anything right. Like, I need to change my every everything I'm doing. I'm not praying right. I'm not getting the work, reading scripture daily like I need to be. And it got to a point where it's just like, I.
You know, I I think I really want to dedicate my life to serving the Lord. And, you know, I don't know what that'll look like just yet. You know, I think ministries definitely Where I want to end up. Praise the Lord. Wow.
So just, you know, not. even three decades or a little less before you started reading the book, for yourself. You had a godly granddad who sat in a kitchen chair reading for six hours and it wrecked his life. And then it wrecks your life, and now you're following Christ.
Now we got a pastor Jeff on the line. And I think, if I'm not mistaken, this is the same pastor, Jeff, that I had coffee with. I posted a picture, we were in Green Joe's. And Pastor Jeff. you kind of wrecked my life there 'cause you carried in a a picture Of a sweet little old lady.
I mean, it looked like she was from the Civil War area. She had rimmed glasses, you know, she just looked like a granny. It was an old, old picture. What was that all about, Pastor Jeff, and how does that have to do with the generational power of prayer? I was reading the book, The Circle Maker, by Mark Batterson, several years ago, and when I read it, it was talking about circling your prayers.
And Mark Batterson said a profound quote, he says that your prayers have no expiration dates. And I just began to ask my mother, and I really thought it would come from my mother's side, did anybody in our family ever pray for a pastor? And she said, no, she could never remember her mother or her grandmother. And I remember asking my father, he's been passed away now for almost four years, and I asked him. um several years ago, I said, Did anybody ever pray?
He said, Yeah, Grandma Johnson used to pray. when they were having their family meals. And my dad was born in nineteen forty four.
So you're looking at probably the late forties or mid fifties that here they were. about twenty miles from South Dakota, twenty miles from Minnesota. Right there in that place, right outside of La Marsowa, and she used to pray for a pastor. to go into the m uh pastor to come out of our family. And And when I did that, I just said, you know what?
That's answered prayer. And today, my son also serves the pastor in Wilmington. We are both with the Global Methodist Church. I had that picture and I had it blown up and I have it in my office just to remind me. that my prayers do not have an expiration date.
Wow. Nick, how does that hit you to hear this guy talk about his great-grandma praying for him? It definitely hits close to home. That's that's powerful stuff right there. Ken, what say you, man?
I mean, you're hearing Pastor Jeff testify what you guys are testifying about. I love it. Thank you, Pastor Jeff. I had never heard that term before. Yeah.
Our prayers have no expiration date. I'm sitting here with Stu and Nick and I mean I'm taking notes and I put a star and a circle by that one. My prayers have no expiration date. Hey, Pastor Jeff, we're going to let you go. We're going to hear more of Nick's story and Ken's story.
But before you go, challenge everyone out there, Pastor Jeff, about not giving up on people, about laboring in prayer. Because God's using those prayers in a mighty way. Can you challenge us as we get out of here, Pastor Jeff? For this break. You know, to me, it's mind-boggling to think that my grandmother passed away in 1984, my great-grandmother.
And I did not even receive a call in the ministry. until 1989. And it's just amazing that the prayers that are said Still can connect, and I just want to encourage you to keep praying, keep believing. in your prayers. do move across generations.
Great man. Wow more coming up. Hang on. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Who?
Prayed for you. Who was on their knees? asking God to save your lost soul. Who prayed for Your family, who prayed for your parents? Ever thought about that?
You know, there's all these DNA tests, and some people, the genealogy folks, you can go and subscribe and say, okay, this is where I came from. My great-great-great-grandfolks are on the Mayflower. My great-great-grandfolks were from England or wherever. Have you ever done a spiritual genealogy? Who led your grandpa to Christ?
Who gave him that Bible? Who gave your great-grandpa that Bible?
Someone influenced Pastor Jeff, who just called in. And I hope if you just joined us, I'm Stu Eberson. This is Truth Talk Live. I hope you'll listen to this whole podcast. Because honestly.
None of us are here without the power of God. And what is that tool? That gift God's given us to connect with Him. It's called prayer. And prayer doesn't so much change them.
Prayer changes me. Prayer opens my heart to what God's doing. Adjoins me with his mighty work. And so we're talking about that all hour long. I'm Stu Everson.
I want to remind you about share the truthnow.com. You can order 250 free gospel cards. A little QR code on the front. This QR code will point. I'm going to give one to my special guest today.
Well, I'm out of a more you got one? Pass it along to Nick. This QR code on this card will open up a thousand videos of how to share the gospel. With anybody that comes in, someone that's Joe's witness, there's great videos on there. Mormon Someone who's maybe into evolution, gender confusion, there's videos with some of the brightest believers sharing with you how to share the gospel with that person.
So there's no excuse why I shouldn't be sharing the gospel. Every believer should be sharing the gospel. When's the last time you led someone to Christ? When's the last time you prayed for someone to come to Christ? Here's a shocking, scary quote.
You ready for this quote? You might want to write this one down, it's not original with me. I heard Pastor J.D. say it on his program on the Truth Network. He said, if God saved Every soul that you prayed for this morning.
How many souls will be saved?
Now, how convicting is that? You're like, oops, I didn't pray for anyone to be saved today.
Well, think about that. What are we asking God for? What great things are we asking God for? And look at the fact, just look at the mirror. If you're a believer, you're a believer because God worked in your heart and God used the prayers of a grandma, a grandpa.
In the studio with me is a grandpa who prayed for his grandson. And God used those prayers. Of that grandpa and the grandma and other people to. Bring this young man to Christ.
So I walk into this coffee shop last week. Pastor Jeff's just called. He walks in with this piece of art. It's a picture, it's a photograph, it's framed. of this old lady with with rain rimmed glasses.
And I'm like, this lady had to be, this had to be from the 30s or 40s. And he said, that lady. And he's telling me all these miracles. He just got back from the mission field in Thailand. God's growing his church like crazy.
The Global Methodist Church in Greensboro, Mount Pisca. He's on the radio. God's using him in my way. His son's now in ministry. But he said, Stu.
Before I was ever called to ministry, I was Even before I was born, this woman prayed for me. God would work in my life and look at all this. And I thought, wow, he's carrying this, you know, to coffee shop. They probably didn't even have coffee shops like this when she was little. But you hear those stories.
You think about the miracles of God, if you want to call in. You can, and we want to hear your story about who prayed for you. Say their name. You're walking with God today because someone was walking with God and prayed for you and prayed a prayer. God would save you and use you in a mighty way.
I'm on this show today because my mama, my grandmama, prayed. My grandmamma prayed my dad would be a preacher. And God used my dad and my uncle to start the largest Christian radio network. You know, Salem Media had to touch a whole ton of souls and to mentor me.
Now I'm doing all this because someone prayed.
Someone prayed for that.
Someone prayed, a godly evangelist prayed for my mom. A guy named John R. Rice prayed for my mom that she would be able to conceive and have children. And look who little Stu, you know, maybe she regrets that day, you know, crazy Stew. But look who's born.
And so I stay w I you know what tells me to go back Ken McAvic, with your grandson here, Nick McAvick, it makes us go back and say: this is the grace of God. And you were going to share a miracle story that God just put on your heart to share, Ken. Yeah, stew. I was twenty three years old. It was November.
I was in Hawaii. My wife and I had won a free trip from Amway Corporation. And there were about 25 couples. And each morning I would go out surfing with the young guys, the teenage boys that were part of the crowd. And One morning I got separated from My group.
And I started, uh trying to swim with my surf board, towards shore. And I noticed that I wasn't making any progress. In fact, I was drifting out to sea. I didn't think anything of it because I was a good swimmer, and I thought, well, I could probably swim back into shore if I have to. And this went on and on.
and after about an hour and a half I looked at shore at the shore And everybody looked like little insects, little bugs. I must have been a a mile out. And I looked in all directions. There was nothing, nothing, nobody behind me, nobody on the side of me, nothing. There I was, all alone.
and all of a sudden a huge wave came from behind and knocked me off my surfboard. and a surfboard went shooting. just like somebody had shot it off a wave. about fifty yards out in front of me. And there I was, all alone.
I thought, well, I'll swim to the surfboard. and after about thirty minutes of swimming, toward my surfboard, I made no progress. Absolutely none. and I was further out. and there was nobody.
And I realized I was going to die. My whole life flashed in front of me. I heard music. I knew I was going to die. This is it.
and I said to myself, Oh. Jesus once said that anything you ask of the Father in my name, if you believe it, he'll do it. And I said, God Almighty, please, I don't want to die. Please save me. I'm asking you in the name of Jesus Christ.
Please save me. And I Just I went down. two or three times and I came back up and I thought, I can't make it. Please, I'm begging you, save me And all of a sudden I heard a voice. From behind me said, Hey You need some help?
and I turned around and there was this young man on a surfboard. Who came from the horizon. He was tan. I'll never forget what he looks like. He had long brown hair.
He had a brown bathing suit. He had one knee on the surfboard and one knee... and the water. He said, 'Are you okay'? I said, 'No, I need you.
Oh, please, my God, help me' He said, Well, can you tread water for a few minutes? I said, I think so. He said, Is that your surfboard over there? I said, Yeah, he said, I'll go get it.
So he paddles over to my surfboard, which is like fifty yards away. and brings it back And he says, get on the shelfboard. Come on, I'll take. Are you strong enough? You feel okay?
You can go in? I said, yeah, I think I can. He said, Well, get on your surfboard, you and I'll go in together.
So we paddle in together. He's probably. ten yards from me on my left side, And he He's encouraging me. Come on, you can do it. We get about Seventy yards from shore, and a huge wave comes and knocks me off my surfboard and dislocates my shoulder.
I go down, I'm drown, I'm done. I'm going to drown right there. I'm going to die again. And the people who from the Amway crowd knew I was missing. I'd been gone for several hours, came running out.
and grabbed me and pulled me up, And They said, What happened? And I told them, and I said, What happened? And they said, oh my God, I said, that's incredible. I said, yeah. And I said, I want to thank the guy that brought me in.
Where is he? And they said, We never saw anybody but you. Wow. And that's something. And that's an honest to God true story.
I'll never forget it. It was a complete miracle. God does answer prayers. And miracles can work in your life. Wow.
And he's anyone that calls upon the Lord, the name of the Lord, and is saved, is a walking, talking miracle. And he kept you alive for a reason. Yes. You didn't think you'd be staring down the. down a microphone here go and talking all to people all over the country.
about your testimony about praying for this young man here. Your grandson, Nick. Nick, when you hear about that with your granddad, how close call that was, and then God brought him back, and not only brought him back, but God exposed him to his word, and God changed his life, and then he was a powerful prayer warrior. Praying for you. What hits you as you hear that story, that testimony?
It's humbling. You can see it's humbling. It's really I mean What else can you say? To see The Lord worked in such a clear way, and somebody so close to me, just humble. Yeah.
Isn't that something? I loved his reaction, by the way. You know, we can't sit here and take credit for any of this stuff, can we? You know, what did Paul say? He said, by the grace of God, I am what I am.
And after he talked about, you know, His testimony. in in the great resurrection of Christ in One Corinthians fifteen. He says, I'm the least of these apostles, but I am what I am by God's grace, and we are what we are by God's grace. And God wasn't done with you yet, Ken. And hey, grandma, grandpa out there.
God ain't done with you. And the privilege I had to lead my grandson to Christ. in his bedroom about a month or two ago. And I'll never forget that. And I'm just praying that the seed of the gospel really would take root in him.
And who knows? One day God may give you offspring. Nick? And who knows what is going to be impacted by your testimony because of your grandpa, because of the people before you, Ken, that prayed for you. They were in your life, they cared.
They said, I'm going to pray for that guy. I'm going to take an interest in that guy. I'm going to share the gospel with that guy. You know, some of those Amway Sunday morning meetings where the gospel is proclaimed, which I do appreciate that about that company. They were bold about their faith.
Nick, your word out there to the next generation, your word out there. To someone who's really struggling because they have a prodigal child and that's way away from God, and there's no hope for him. What would you say about the power of prayer, about this whole thing? What's your challenge? Just get in his word.
Read read the New Testament. Read the four Gospels. It's life-changing. And you know, I What scares me is, you know, I grew up thinking I had a relationship with Jesus, thinking I was a believer, was a Christian, and You know, I thought I was living a good life, but I had never read his word. I didn't know him at all.
So just read his word, read the gospels. Um You know, you don't have to start with Matthew. Maybe start with John, Mark. But read just read, read a scripture, familiarize yourself with the way he he talks to us. Um And the the the more familiar you become with the way that God speaks.
the more you'll see him showing up in your life and um It's it's the best decision you'll ever make in your life. Wow. And Grandpa Ken, that's how you started the show, talking about how God's word gripped you. You were gripping it, reading it, six hours in a chair in the kitchen. I hope everyone will go back and listen to the first part of the show.
You had everyone putting people on the line just saying, who is this guy? What a story. But that's his, how we opened, and that's how. What's your challenge and everyone about the word real quick, Ken, as we go in the next segment?
Well, Stu, on a totally different subject, our country needs Christians. We're under attack, we're at war. Jesus Christ as it were. And all of us Christians, and be honest, we are. I mean, we have a lot of people in America.
who are not Christians and who would probably never read their Bible, never read the New Testament. And they're going to ultimately be a big problem for us. And we need to unite as Christians. We need to pray for other people. You're listening to The Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com.
Wow, what a testimony. I hope you all heard that. Ken and Nick McAvik, and just the call to go back to God's word, right, Ken? That's your passion, isn't it? Getting people back to Word.
That's what unites. That's what opens hearts. That's what opens eyes to the gospel, doesn't it? Absolutely. And, Nick, you made a comment when we had a little recess.
Tell us how you were. You mentioned something about. the the fact that you were lukewarm and that maybe millions of people pick it up from there. You know, I just I just think it's such a dangerous place to be. And I think, you know, growing up in this country, a great country, But we're so desensitized to who Jesus truly is.
And it's a dangerous place to be because you don't think that you need to deepen your relationship with him. You don't think that you need to read his scripture because you think you already know it. And that's exactly where I was. And. That's why I just think it's so important, and I would encourage everybody to read the New Testament, specifically the Gospels.
And what a great segue into. Money Mondays with our friend David Fisher. David, say hey to Ken and Nick. David, who prayed for you? Ken and Nick.
Buddy. Thank you for letting me. Be with you today, and obviously, you still. Oh, man. Hey, guys, this is David.
You jumped into a good one, man. And we're asking that question. I'd love for you to share, David. Maybe who prayed for you? Who didn't give up on you, man, when you were searching?
You went from pastor to precious metals, but before you became even in the Lord, maybe someone was praying for you.
Well, it's funny that you say all those things because I'm sure my mom prayed for me. I'm sure my dad. I'm sure there's people that I even know who prayed for me. That goes right along with exactly what dovetails into the scripture I picked out. For today, Philippians chapter 1, verse 12 and 13, if I may.
Yes. It says this: Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress. of the gospel, so that my imprisonment and the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to everyone else.
So obviously this is polarizing this. And you know, he was under under Roman custody. There were nine to twelve thousand elite troops from the Roman Empire, the most influential. uh guards that the empire had. And so Paul was chained to a Roman soldier Uh And they rotated every few hours.
So, because of those constant rotations, Paul was able to witness to these guards that they would never probably have heard the gospel. And because of his faith, He was imprisoned. But he was not a criminal.
So Paul's looking at this point and he looked back And many would say it's a setback being imprisoned. But it actually gave him an opportunity to share the gospel with people who otherwise might not have ever have heard it.
So I want to share something personally that I can look back at my life. I'm sixty-four years old. And I can see the greatest moments that brought me the closest to Christ, I gave my life to Christ at age 16. But those greatest moments were disappointments, struggles, Things I thought would happen didn't happen. Uh life throwing us a curveball.
questioning God, do you really know what's going on? Only to look back that maybe that was me chained to something, not that I was in sin or anything, but God was trying to. Get my attention. God was trying to show me something, He was trying to make me into His likeness. The easy way is the broad way that leads to destruction, the narrow path leads to life.
And that's how it is, not just for salvation, but it's also us becoming like Christ. That's such a good word. And you know, it's interesting. How God uses at some point. This grandpa here recognized, hey, I have a stewardship of grandkids.
I have a stewardship of kids. And he prayed. God used that prayer, he took it seriously. And someone took it seriously to pray for David Fisher. And to pray for Stu Epperson and to pray for us.
And thank God for those prayer warriors. Thank God that, hey, we saw the casket, we saw the casket go in the ground. Of that that grandparent? But we're seeing the fruits of that grandparents' prayers. Walking the earth and sharing the gospel and bringing thousands to Christ.
Someone prayed for Moody, someone prayed for Wesley.
Someone prayed for someone else who walked into the gym and just said, Lord, I lift that man up. I pray for an opportunity to share the gospel with that person. I pray that you'll open their heart to the gospel. And David Fisher. Just as we're to be stewards Of prayer, just as we're to be stewards of the family God has put in our lives.
Everywhere you go, you are a steward of that soil because it's all the Lord's and God's called you there. We're also to be stewards of our finances. You've helped us so much in the area with your landmark gold ministry. Tell us a little bit about. Why that's important, and some things we need to watch out for as you give us this kind of Money Monday.
update each week. It's such an encouragement, but it is about stewardship, isn't it, sir? It is, you know. The scriptures talk more about stewardship and money than salvation. Not to minimize salvation.
That's in my book. That's way more important than money. But money is up there somewhere on the list. And God's kingdom, as far as numbers, it's. I don't want to say it's more important, but it's important.
Because that's how we finance the kingdom of God, that's how we bless people, that's how the system works around money. It's not our God. We just have funds that God has entrusted us with, and the more we understand about money, The more we can balance our Relationship with money and be effective stewards of that money that the Lord has entrusted with us. And that's my passion: to help people. I'm a Paul the tent maker.
I'm here about. Helping people learn about money, how to protect it, how to grow it, how to diversify. Got to be good stewards of it and not let it be your God, also. It's be in balance. When you focused on this area of gold and silver, something that's quadrupled or something in the last few years, talk about how that's been an important area to focus on and why that's been a blessing for a lot of people through your ministry there at Landmark Gold.
So, yeah, gold since 2022, something happened in 2022, is a very significant thing. Russia had $300 billion that the United States seized. They froze their assets. And why did we do that?
Well, because we wanted to stop this war that was going on with them in Ukraine. And so Um that freaked the world out, and rightly so. Central bank said, you know what? I got to sell dollars. I don't want to buy treasuries that I used to buy.
And I'm going to back away from that. And I'm going to. buy more gold. Is called de dollarization, and there's a group called BRICS, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. That really has been leading the charge.
BRICS is two times larger than all the seven largest countries in the world, which is part of the United States. They're growing in their Resources, they're growing in population, and I don't think they're going to overtake the world. But they don't want to use the dollar. And so as a result, of dollars not being used near as much. Since twenty twenty two, and gold being bought really aggressively since that era.
Here's the numbers. The Dow went up forty percent from twenty twenty two until now. S P went up 55%, the NASDAQ went up 60%. And gold went up 135%. We're talking two to three times more than the indexes on U.
S. stock market. and silver 190%.
So what I'm not telling you is to take all your money out of stocks and put it into gold and silver. What I am saying is Scripture says A portion to seven, a portion to eight. because you do not know what tragedy may befall you. And we're having a financial challenge that's starting to come out in the news. We're going to talk about that more next week.
It's all about the dollar. It's all about treasuries. It's the core of the whole financial system. And it's coming into check. But I got a white paper, a couple of them.
That will help you understand about gold. How they're going to probably back the currency by gold. It's called the golden era with a silver lining. And how bricks Is moving away from the dollar, which is the very thing that we need the world to do, because that's how we create revenue for our country. And we don't have enough revenue.
We've got a two-point $3 trillion budget deficit, which is just staggering.
So gold is a great tool and silver in a portfolio to balance your portfolio out. to lower your risk. and maximize your gains. And we're about ready for a big movement right now happening This third quarter of this year.
Okay, wow. And David, thanks for discipling us through this process. A lot of this I don't understand, but I love reading your information. It's really helpful. We need to be wise with our money.
It's not our money, it's God's money, right?
So, information about David's wonderful work at landmarkgold.com can be found. You can call him. The website is landmarkgold.com. There's a toll-free number. You get information.
He has a wealth of information, no pun intended, that on information he can send you about the gold, the silver lining article, and all that. The toll-free number is 844-604-2575, 844-604-257. 7.5. I want to close, David, by what you said with this verse of the day, Philippians 1. You know, Paul was chained, he was in prison.
But he talked about how it was caused to it was a cause for gain. It was a cause for the advance of the gospel. Your grandkids, your kids, they be nuisance. Man, snotty nose, dirty diapers, this is never going to end. I'm exhausted.
I'm not sleeping. But they are opportunities for the gospel. You see, David, would you agree that it wasn't Paul chained to a Roman soldier? It was a Roman soldier that was chained to Paul. How would you like to be chained to a guy who was on fire for the resurrected Lord and life has been transformed?
And that word went out. David, close us with a thought on that, will you, pal, and encourage everyone to recognize that our change are in Christ and that we need to be praying for the salvation of the next generation and for reaching this world with the gospel. Get us out of here with a word, will you? And none of that would have happened if those Christians were persecuted by the very guy himself, Paul, they prayed for him. And he got saved.
So prayer, God answers it. And you never know the miracles will happen that will come out of it. What a blessing. Man, such a good word. Ken, Nick, what about this guy, David Fisher?
He's a real deal, isn't he? Oh, yeah. You want to work with people that have some financial sense like him that love Jesus, that there's a greater kingdom. Because everything we have is a means to the ends of glorifying God, spreading the gospel. Thank God someone paid money for that little Bible, that New Testament that was left in that day's end that Ken McAvic picked up and read.
And little did he know that the book he was reading was reading him. Six hours reading that book transformed his life. And now Nick is walking with Christ, his grandson, an answer to prayer generations later. And you're both in the studio. And David Fisher, thanks for blessing us, my brother.
All you guys. Love you guys. Thank you. Thank you.
