Our daughter, Jessie, loves playing detective.
A clue. But since we discovered she has sensitive skin, we've been playing detective too. We thought the problem was our puppy. But it was actually our old detergent.
Aha. So we switched to Tide Free and Gentle. Tide Clean's better than the leading competitive free detergent and it doesn't leave behind irritating residues. Plus, Tide Free and Gentle has no dyes or perfumes, so it's gentle on her skin. Case closed.
If it's got to be clean, it's got to be Tide Free and Gentle. Donate and listen to the podcast at WRWL.org. Now there was talk among the pilgrims in the seamen of how they would take their own liberties once on land. Since there was no law at that time, 41 of the pilgrims banded together to write the Mayflower Compact.
Let's take a moment to read what it said. By the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, being king defender of the faith, having undertaken for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith, in the honor of our kings and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, due by these present solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and of one another, covenant and combined ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends before said. And by virtue hereof, to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices from time to time, as shall be thought of most meet and covenant, convenient for the general good of the colony, and to which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness thereof, we have hereunder subscribed our name at Cape Cod the 11th of November in the year of the reign of the Sovereign Lord King James of England, France, and Ireland, the 18th and of Scotland the 54th, 1620.
The 41 pilgrims signed the compact and then elected Mr. John Carver as their governor for that year. Work had then proceeded on a storehouse and small cottages to live in. Laws were made as they need arose for their protection, both in the civil and military governments. Work on the town which they had called Plymouth went slowly as the winter storms raged on. The following months were hard and difficult.
Times and discontent would at times break out, but was handled with wisdom and patience by the governor. The saddest part of that first winter was that in those first two to three months, one half of their members died. It was especially bad in January and February, which are the worst of the winter months.
Housing was still not good enough. The people and sailors became infected with scurvy and other diseases which had been brought on by the long hard sea voyage. During those months, two or three people would die each day. Over 100 died at all. At the end of the winter, there were barely 50 pilgrims remaining.
Of those remaining, there were only six or seven that were of sound health. These few spent all their time and energy fetching wood for fires and taking care of the sick. Two men worked the hardest. They were Mr. William Brewster, their Reverend Elder, and Miles Standish, their military commander. Their health was so good the entire time that they never were sick at all. These two men, God saw fit to guard those that were well and would give of themselves unselfishly to help the others.
Bradford wrote that he did not doubt that the rewards waited in heaven for them. During those first months, that winter, the Indians would come by the camp and watch. But when approached, they would run away. Once they even stole the pilgrims' tools while the pilgrims had gone to dinner. At about the 16th of March, a certain Indian came boldly amongst them. He spoke in broke English, which the pilgrims could understand and marveled at. The Indian told of how he was not part of the country, but of an eastern part. The English ship had come to fish, and the English had taught him to speak English. And in return, he had taught them about the area and the Indians living there. His name was Samoset. Samoset also spoke of another Indian named Squanto, who was a native of the Plymouth area, but had been taken to England for a while and could speak better English. The pilgrims and Samoset talked and entertained each other for a while.
Then he left. A while later, he returned with five other Indians and the tools which had been stolen. Samoset said they were making the way for their sachem, that's the chief, called Massasoit.
About four or five days later, their chief arrived with other Indians and the one named Squanto. The pilgrims and the Indian chief made peace with each other and established the following treaty. One, neither the Indians nor the pilgrims were to hurt or injure the other. Two, if someone did hurt one or the other, then the offender would be sent to the other for punishment. If anything was stolen from either side, it had to be returned. If anyone should unjustly make war on either, then they would help each other. They would let the other tribes in the area and the new arriving settlers know about these terms so peace could be kept.
When they visited each other, all weapons would be left behind. Spring was now approaching. The sick grew better in the days the dying had stopped. The pilgrims had gone through much with patience and contingencies.
They were truly upheld by the hand of God. In the beginning of April, the Mayflower was finally sent back to England. The mariners had built lodges for the winter and were happy to finally be on their way home. Now we talk about the first spring. Time had arrived for planting and all were able to begin to plant corn. Squanto was there to show them how and with much help, Squanto showed them how to plant a fish with each seed or else the corn would not grow. The fish provided moisture and helped to fertilize the seed. He also showed them how to store water and how to tend the corn. British seeds, which the pilgrims had brought with them, did not grow because they had gone bad during the sea voyage.
On September 18th, a small boat was sent out in the bay to explore the area. There were tales of an eastern people who would raid the villages and steal the corn and kill the people. They returned safely with plenty of beaver. The men were sorry that the town had not been built on the other side, but God assigns the boundaries of each man's habitation. God had different plans for the other areas. The pilgrims found the Lord to be with them in all that they did.
Bradford praised his name forever to all posterity. The seasons were getting on. The pilgrims began to gather in their small harvest and get ready for the winter.
Many said about fishing and running cod and bass and other fish. There had been no want all summer. Now they would have to store much so there would be no want during the long winter. Waterfowl, wild turkeys, venison and other foods were stored away.
The storehouse was filled when they were done. Many wrote home to England about all the food that they had. On November 1621 arrived and within a small ship, which was not expected, Mr. Cushman and 35 other pilgrims arrived. Concern arose about having enough food for the winter as the newcomers arrived without any provisions.
The new arrivals were welcomed happily, but it was wished that they had at least brought clothes or beds or pots to cook with. With the new arrivals came a letter from Mr. Weston in England. He was upset at how long the Mayflower had been kept before its return.
The fact that the ship did not return full of things to sell and many other complaints. The second ship called the Fortune was quickly dispatched with a full cargo of clapboard and beaver skins for England. Mr. Cushman returned with the ship to inform Mr. Weston of all that was going on in the colony. There were more pilgrims waiting and laden to come to England. Mr. Weston had promised to provide transportation for all who wanted to come.
After the ship left, the newcomers were replaced with existing families. An account of the provisions was then taken. It was discovered that if they gave everyone half of what they had anticipated, the food would last only six months. They found it hard to be able to eat only half of what they had planned, but did so with the hope of more supplies reaching them. In May 1622, with food almost completely gone, the pilgrims spotted a small ship in the bay. It arrived for Mr. Weston with seven more pilgrims, but no provisions.
Mr. Weston's other ships were a short distance away fishing, but would not venture to Cape Cod. Everyone was by then quite hungry. They were reminded of Psalm 118, verse 8.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to have confidence in men. Mr. Weston was happy to send more pilgrims, but always seemed to forget to send food. The pilgrims now, in their desperation, turned to God and the Bible for comfort. All their hopes for help from Mr. Weston were gone.
All his promises of providing them for them were empty words, empty words. Many became bitter and spirited about their plight. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Weston again sent a ship with 60 more men to the colony. These men would eventually go to the Massachusetts Bay, but for a while were placed with the pilgrims. Many were sick and had to be taken care of. Food was running out. The newcomers were an unruly bunch. Badford and the others became fearful of what would happen to the colony.
The 60 men finally left for Massachusetts Bay, but famine was growing each day. Just when all seemed lost, the Lord who never fails provided again. A small ship was sighted. The ship was from Virginia.
The captain spared all he could and told his men to do the same. The pilgrims received not only food, but knowledge of the area in relation to Virginia. The food, when divided for so many, did not amount to much, but God blessed it. And it was enough to keep them until harvest. The harvest, which was not ripe, was too small and was not enough for the whole year. The people were not accustomed to growing Indian corn. Many could not work due to starving. Part of the harvest was stolen before it could ripen by the starving people.
It looked as though the next year would be another one of famine unless something happened. Now, once again by God's providence, a ship arrived. It had been set to explore all the harbors between Virginia and Cape Cod. It was well stocked with English beads and knives, which were good for trading with the Indians. The pilgrims traded beaver skins for these items in hope of trading with the Indians for corn. About this time, the men who Mr. Weston had settled in Massachusetts Bay began to run short on supplies. They began to wonder what would happen to them.
Radford wondered at how quickly they were in need of supplies as they had been completely supplied by a ship. They soon starved to begin to die. The ones who lived would brag of how strong they were. The pilgrims knew the truth.
It is God who can make the weak to stand and the strong to fall. Now in Plymouth, no supplies were heard of, nor did they expect any. The leader set about trying to think of a way to grow more corn before winter to keep everyone from starving. After much discussion, the governor, William Bradford, now as Mr.
Carver had died, suggested the answer. Each family was given a plot of ground and corn to plant. It became the responsibility for each family to grow their own food.
The results were amazing. The children were busy planting. Women happily went into the fields to work. Even the weak and the young became involved in the production of food. This resulted in more corn being produced than the colony would have the other way. This was the start of individual farming, which replaced collective farming. You know, we call communism today or socialism, which never did work. The wise men of old had long believed that if all people were brought into society where they all shared everything, no matter what they did, then the people would be happy and prosperous. What Bradford found using this idea at Plymouth was that the people were confused, discontented, and did not want to work. The young men who were strong did not want to work hard for other men's wives and children without extra pay. The person who was sick and could not work was thought to be wrong to want food and clothing, which he did not help to grow or make. The wives did not want to do work for other men like washing their clothes and fixing their meals. Many thought that this had been a form of slavery.
Bradford saw in the people a corruption which they could not help. God in his wisdom saw another course for them to take. As each day ended in this new adventure, every family would not know if there would be food the next day. Prayers were raised on high. A new meaning of the words became known. Give us our daily bread, this new method of producing food which met with patience, and a hearty spirit which lasted for the most part of the next two years.
1623. By this time there was only one good fishing boat left. They divided up into groups to take turns at fishing with nets. No sooner was the boat emptied of its cargo than another group took her out. Each group would not come home until they caught enough something, for they knew there was nothing at home.
If they were to return with nothing, it would be a great discouragement to the rest. And when fishing was hard, all the people would hunt for shellfish which could be caught during low tide. They would also hunt for groundnuts and fowl. At this point Bradford told about the trials of farming. It seems that people worked long and hard, but the large crops just did not seem to appear. The Lord set a drought which lasted from the third week in May into the middle of July. There was no rain, only a great heat. The corn began to weather, away in spite of the fact that it had been planted with fish or moisture.
It was at this point that a day of prayer was set up for the entire colony. The next day it was clear and hot. Not a cloud in the sky, but towards the evening the sky began to become overcast and it began to rain. The rain did not pour down which would have washed all the plants away.
It came down in a sweet gentle mist, just the right amount, not too much or too hard. The rains came with no wind nor thunder. The rains quickly revived the corn and their fruit trees. The Indians marveled at the blessings of the rain. God then set seasonal rains until it was time for harvest.
Through these rains, the warm weather which God provided, the harvest was the largest they ever had. There was much rejoicing in the colony to thank God for all He had done. He set aside one day, a day of thanksgiving to God for delivering them. Thus in 1623, the first thanksgiving day was held to praise God. Next thanksgiving day was set down, as we set down to a table full of turkey, vegetables, rolls and such, we need to remember 1623. It was the last year that God delivered the pilgrims out of the famine. About 14 days later, this ship called Ann arrived.
Mr. William Pierce was the captain. With him were 60 more people for the colony. Some were wives and children of men already at the colony.
Some became very useful due to their skills. There were also some people who were not pilgrims but who the Virginia Company said could own their own land but were to remain under the government of the colony. These people were to cause problems later on. The newcomers to the colony were not prepared for what they found. Many wished they were back in England, others fell to the ground weeping.
All were full of sadness. Their friends, however, rejoiced to see their old friends. The conditions did not bother them now. They looked forward to better days with friends around them.
The pilgrims welcomed the newcomers with a dinner of lobster and fish. Food was still tight so water was the only other thing they could offer. God, however, gave them strength and health so they would know what Deuteronomy 8-3 was right. Man lives not by bread alone but by every word that comes of the mouth of God. The old planters now that the corn was ripe were afraid that the corn would be given to the newcomers who had brought some provisions. But not enough to make it through the year until next harvest. Bradford's governor decided that the planters were to keep their food and the newcomers were to keep their provisions. If either ran out, they would purchase food from the other.
This seemed to please everyone. The ship end was laden with clapboard to be taken back to England. Beaver and other skins were sent back. Mr. Winslow also returned to England to report to the company and purchase the things the colony might need. By now, it was time for the colony to hold its yearly elections. The number of people had grown considerably. Bradford wanted more assistance to the governor-elect to help with all the problems which were coming.
The people elected five people as assistance to help the governor. As spring arrived again, the colonists found that they did not starve. The good harvest they had reaped through their individual efforts had worked.
They set about now with renewed energy. Each family worked hard on their own land. Corn became prized more highly than silver. Those with extra corn would use it as trade amongst themselves. If someone had money, he found that corn was the preferable trade. Since the good harvest was important for many reasons, not the least of these barter.
The people now approached the governor with a request. Up to this point, the land which was farmed one year was given to another next. They now requested that the same land be allowed to be worked each year. That way, a person could reap the benefits of fertilizing and hard work done the year before instead of having another profit.
This was agreed upon. Each person was given an acre of land near the small town to farm until the seven years were up. Keeping the farms small and close together, safety and defense was improved. Now, there were many other ventures which the pilgrims had. They went through many trials and hardships and they always were steadfast and kept their faith in God. At the end of the diary, Bradford told the spirit of the people in the new land. He told about the spirit of the people in the new land. With the growth of more people in New England came many types of wickedness. He marveled at its growth since if any wickedness was found, it was severely punished. The punishments could not bring an end to many different sins. It caused him to wonder and fear at the consideration of the corrupt nature of man.
In this place where so many of God's miracles were shown, it still grew. He considered that possibly the devil carried a greater spirit against the churches of Christ than those spreading the gospel. Bradford demanded to know just how many wicked and profane people should so quickly come over to the new land and mix with God's people. He remembered that the main reason for the settling of the land had been for freedom of religion.
Bradford then attempted to answer his own question. First, it's to be remembered, whenever Jesus sows good seed, envious men tried it so bad. Second, the labor was so great. To start a new life with a building of so much had done doing without so much that the idea of just taking what someone else had already built upon was great. Third, in the rush to bring godly people to the new lands, some began to make a trade of it and did not care who they brought over. Thus, many unworthy people arrived. Fourth, God blessed his people, both inwardly and outwardly, knowing this many people like to follow God's people to reap the benefits, just as people followed Christ around so that they could eat of the loaves of bread.
Same reason that when the Israelites in Egypt, there were many who went along just to be out of Egypt. Thus, in 20 years time, Bradford wondered if the good parts might also be going bad. In the concluding parts of this section of Bradford's history, which we have been studying, Bradford talks again with the pilgrims, Bradford admired the great providence of God in spite of the many changes and hardships which the people went through. Even with the many difficulties they had to meet, God brought as many of them to a ripe old age. Many of them reached ages of 60, 65, and 70, and above. A few even lived until 80 years old, as Bradford did. I'm going to stop right there, and Pastor Joe, would you introduce the story of John Bunyan?
I sure would. John Bunyan, a lot of people have no idea who John Bunyan was. I heard a joke, Paul Bunyan and his blue ox. No, John Bunyan was an unregistered Baptist preacher. He was jailed for preaching. He was preaching without a license. He said to go free, all John Bunyan had to do was make one promise. He must agree not to preach publicly anymore. His reply?
If I was out of prison today, I would preach the gospel again tomorrow by the help of God. He was born clear back in 1628 in the heart of England near Bedford. He grew up pretty poor. He grew up without education.
He was a very wild and profane youth. When he was 16, he joined the army. When he was on duty, he was taken out to participate in a siege. Another soldier was taken his place on duty.
This other gentleman stood as the sentinel shot in the head and killed. He came to see this as God sparing his life for something. It took a while, but he finally came to understanding who God was. Basically, he realized that the regular religion, something was wrong with it. He became this preacher on fire to preach the gospel the way it was written and without permission from the state, to make a long story short. He spent most of his life in prison because he started a ministry there and basically wrote several books.
One of them was one of the best selling books in the world, Pilgrim's Progress, written from jail and the second, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. He finally was released and went on his way, still preaching the gospel. Pastor Joe, he refused the 501c3 of his day.
Exactly. He was unregistered. He would not go along with the state's requirements. He was what I'd call the first street preacher, wouldn't you?
Yeah, but you know, we have to get into it because we're running out of time. Mr. Bunyan, you stand before this court accused of persistent and willful transgression of the conventional act which prohibits all British subjects from absenting themselves from worship in the Church of England. Judge Wingate. Apart from conducting worship services apart from our church, you come presumably with no legal training, and yet without counsel, I must warn you, sir, of the gravity of the charge, the harshness of the penalty, in the event of your conviction, in the foolhardiness of acting as your own counsel in so serious a matter. I hold in my hand the depositions of the witnesses against you. In each case they have testified that, to their knowledge, you have never in your adult life attended services in the church of this parish. Each further testifies that he has observed you on numerous occasions, conducting religious exercises in and near Bedford. The depositions speak the truth.
I have never attended services in the Church of England, nor do I intend ever to do so. Secondly, it is no secret that I preach the word of God whenever, wherever, and to whomever he pleases to grant me opportunity to do so. I have no choice but to acknowledge my awareness of the law which I am accused of transgressing. Likewise, I have no choice but to confess my guilt in my transgression of it.
As true as these things are, I must affirm that I neither regret breaking the law nor repent of having broken it. Further, I must warn you that I have no intention in the future of conforming to it. It is obvious, sir, that you are a victim of deranged thinking. If my ears deceive me not, I must infer from your words that you believe the State to have no interest in the religious life of its subjects.
The State, me Lord, may have an interest in anything in which it wishes to have an interest, but the State has no right whatever to interfere in the religious life of its citizens. The evidence I hold in my hand, even apart from your own admission of guilt, is sufficient to convict you, and the Court is within its rights to have you committed to prison for a considerably long time. I do not wish to send you to prison, Mr. Bunyan. I am aware of the poverty of your family.
And I believe you have a daughter who unfortunately was born blind. Is this not so? It is, me Lord. Very well. The decision of the Court is this. Inasmuch as the accused has confessed his guilt, we shall follow a merciful and compassionate course of action. We shall release him on the condition that he swear solemnly to discontinue the convening of religious meetings, and that he affix his signature to such an oath prior to quitting the courtroom. That will be all, Mr. Bunyan.
I hope not to see you here again. May we hear the next case? Me Lord, if I may have another moment of the Court's time. Yes, but you must be quick about it. We have other matters to attend to.
What is it? I cannot do what you ask me, me Lord. I cannot place my signature upon any document in which I promise henceforth not to preach. My calling to preach the gospel is from God, and he alone can make me discontinue what he has appointed me to do. As I have had no word from him to that effect, I must continue to preach, and I shall continue to preach. I warn you, sir, the Court has gone the second mile to be lenient with you, out of concern for your family's difficult straits.
Truth to tell, it would appear that the Court's concern for your family far exceeds your own. Do you wish to go to prison? No, me Lord.
Few things there are that I would wish less. Very well, then, Mr. Bunyan. This Court will make one further attempt, in good faith, to accommodate what appears to be strongly held convictions on your part. In his compassion and beneficence our Sovereign, Charles II, has made provision for dissenting preachers to hold some limited meetings. All that is required is that such ministers procure licenses authorizing them to convene these gatherings. You will not find the procedure burdensome, and even you, Mr. Bunyan, must surely grant the legitimacy of the State's interest in ensuring that any fool with a Bible does not simply gather a group of people together and begin to preach to them.
Imagine the implications were that to happen. Can you comply with this condition, Mr. Bunyan? Before you answer, mark you this, should you refuse, the Court will have no alternative but to sentence you to a prison term. Think, sir, of your poor wife.
Think of your children, and particularly of your pitiful, sightless little girl. Think of your flock, who can hear you to their heart's content when you have secured your licenses. Think on these things and give us an answer, sir. Me Lord, I can appreciate the Court's efforts to be, as you have put it, accommodating. But again, I must refuse your terms. I must repeat that it is God who constrains me to preach, and no man or company of men may grant or deny me leave to preach. These licenses of which you speak, me Lord, are symbols not of a right but of a privilege. Implied therein is the principle that a mere man can extend or withhold them according to his whim. I speak not of privileges but of rights. Privileges, licenses, granted by men, may be denied by men.
Rights are granted by God, and can be legitimately denied by no man. I must therefore refuse to comply. Very well, Mr. Bunyan. Since you persist in your intractability, and since you reject this Court's honest effort at compromise, you leave us no choice but to commit you to bed for jail for a period of six years. If you manage to survive, I should think that your experience will correct your thinking.
If you fail to survive, that will be unfortunate. In any event, I strongly suspect that we have heard the last we shall ever hear from Mr. John Bunyan. Now, may we hear the next case? Of course, neither Judge Wingate nor the world had heard the last of John Bunyan, but during his lengthy incarceration in the old Bedford Jail with his Bible as his Constant Companion guide, Bunyan gave to the world the epic Pilgrim's Progress. Bunyan was denied pen and paper, and Pilgrim's Progress was written with pieces of charcoal from the fire that kept his body warm.
On the paper, wads used as stoppers for milk bottles, from which he drank. John Bunyan preached grace in Christ and the righteousness of God in his son. Folks, John Bunyan, think about this. What was it John was rejecting? He was rejecting the 501c3 state license of the day. And this is, you know, this is, you hardly hear many preachers preaching that today. In fact, you hardly hear any of them even mention the fact that he was a Baptist preacher. And John could have gone.
Remember, him and his family could have been on the Mayflower, one of those ships that was at the same time that they were crossing the ocean. He was put in prison for rejecting the state. And when you get licensed by the state today, that 501c3, which we've been talking about for many years here, Doers of the Word Baptist Church is an unregistered New Testament church. When you receive that 501c3, you enter into a contract and a covenant with a state. And in that, if you read it clearly, the state is the head. Now with a church, a New Testament church, it has only one head, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ.
And also, you became a corporation, you agree that you're a corporation. Corpus means non-living, so you agree in a contract, in a covenant, that you are, well, that you're a non-living creation of the state. The church is the living body of Christ, you know, created by Christ. In that contract, you see that the pastor of the church is referred to, if you look, they use Black's Law as an agent. And if you look at the definition up there, it's got two definitions. Primary definition is intercessor between the assembly and the state.
The secondary definition is a spy for the state against the church. And so, folks, this is what we've been telling people for 50 years. 50 years we've been telling you out there. And more and more, new churches that start, actual New Testament Baptist churches, are starting without the 501c3, without that. And you know what? According to the Constitution, folks, by the way, according to, first of all, God's Word, the Bible.
God's Word, the Bible. But even the IRS in their code says all churches, not only are tax-exempt, but real churches, okay, are not only tax-exempt, but they're exclusively, okay, tax-immune. And so, that's the reality.
In fact, I had two former IRS agents on the radio program one day, and they were saying, we could never understand why these churches, why these pastors would place their church under our authority when there was no need to do it. And I said, the answer is simple. They're called lawyers. That's the answer. Lawyers and liars because they were convinced that this is what they should do, right?
Yeah, yeah. As someone who was just trying to manipulate them, like I talked about in the beginning, for so many years, America had been listening to the deceivers, the liars, those that are trying to rewrite our history, laws, and the nation was taken by these people. The Antichrist system believed them. You know, Joe, with the last few minutes we have tonight, I just wanted to tell the folks out there, I wish everybody out there have a blessed, blessed Thanksgiving out there today. God has blessed us, not what you... Not what has, honey. Yeah, folks, I'm telling you, you know, what's happened, we've got to stop the killing of the children. Listen, we just have to stop it.
You know, God is long suffering, but he's not slack, concerning the judgment. And we're going to keep you aware of things happening as we go. As long as we can stay on the air here, we're going to be warning you as watchmen on the wall, because we have some things coming up.
One of them has called the Voters' Bill of Rights, and it's exactly the opposite. And we'll be letting you know about this. The communists have come back, just like the issue one. One more time, we got to stand up against them. But you fellas, I'll take a minute and just make a Thanksgiving Day wish or comment.
Go ahead, Barkley. Amen. I just want to... We're reminded to always give thanks in everything. And certainly God is good. And I just want to say with, you know, with this reading of John Bunyan here, you know, he struggled with the assurance of salvation and in his book, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. It's that he struggled not with the message of the gospel, but rather if God really loved him personally. And I want to say to you in this Thanksgiving season, I want to remind you of Romans 8, which says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or pearl, or sword, as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter, nay, and all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor death, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Amen. You know, we're running out of time.
You got about a minute there. I would just like to agree with Joe as far as what he said. We are so blessed with this past elections results for the majority of them. And then let's just keep fighting the good fight. Give thanks to God for this wonderful country and our constitutional rights and restore what the enemy has stolen. And like Pastor said, we got to stop killing these, got to protect them, save the babies. So God bless America and praise Jesus Christ.
Amen. I wanted to say one more time to remind you folks very quickly about the Jug County Right to Life. You folks in Northeast Ohio, this Sunday, December 1st at 7 p.m. They're having their Christmas concert.
It's a major fundraiser and they really deserve your support. It's 7 p.m. at the Chester Christian Center, 11815 Chillicothe Road in Chesterland, Ohio. And Pastor Joe, you've got about four minutes. Oh, the thing that hits me is the old hymn, and the battle goes on forever twixt the darkness and the light.
And that is so true. God has given us an opportunity to make amends for the wrongs this nation's done. And this Thanksgiving also ought to be a time to commit that we as Christians will continue to, or if you haven't, make a new commitment to run to the battle, to keep fighting that good fight of faith, to go out and boldly witness, witness to your faith, your salvation to others.
It's something we and many people have been afraid to do because of political correctness and wokeness. But we've been withholding, doing the prime directive that God gave us is to go out and preach the gospel. And it is time, I think, for many of the fence sitters to become bold and to realize that our Lord, everything He told us to do in the New Testament is an active verb, to go out there and reprove things, rebuke, to witness, to testify, stand in the gap, run to the battle, fight the fight, everything He wants us to do, active verbs. It's time for the Christian men and women in this country to get active, to stay in politics, to keep being constantly in prayer because the battle's not over just because we won an election. No, it's just beginning. It is just beginning.
Styla, go ahead and take a minute. I just want to say I think something that's often overlooked as a blessing is the greatest gift we have, you know. We have the gift of life and we can make anything we want out of that because of Christ's sacrifice for our sins. You know, it's taken advantage and it's taken for granted much too often, I think. Just being able to wake up every day and take the breaths you have while you have them is the greatest gift to be thankful for. Well, we do. We have so much to be thankful for.
I mean, for every one of you out there listening to me, I can tell you probably there are millions of people that would trade places with us on our worst day, it seems like. And we are too much is given, much is required. And we have so much to be thankful for. I want to say to all of the folks that have supported us this whole year, it's been a tough year.
I mean, in many, many ways, it's been financially health wise for many ways. But we're we're here and we ran a good race. We fought a good fight.
And and so, you know, and we placed up those crowns and glory. But I just wanted to say I want to thank all of you, too, for the support, for all your support and for the letters. So many of you have really helped us. You've you've you've encouraged us greatly with your letters out there. And we have such a wonderful group of ladies listening to this radio program. I'm telling you, you just they're after my own heart. They really are.
The letters they write, it just it's really encouraging. And I want to say thank you. God bless you and have a blessed, blessed Thanksgiving. Fellas, you all got about 10 seconds left to go ahead.
Sorry, will you, Joe? Oh, just may God bless us all. And we just need to thank him every day. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord. He is good.
Give thanks unto all things for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. All right. Well, again, we're we're ending up the program. It was a great program today.
I really enjoyed it. And it's been a blessed Thanksgiving to all of us so far. And I just want to say again, thank you all. Have a safe, a very, very safe Thanksgiving out there tomorrow. And I know we got some some weather coming in some areas and share God's love. Amen.
Share God's love. And again, for all of you, have a blessed, blessed, blessed Thanksgiving. We're at that time where we always say thanks for being here with us tonight. Thanks for all your support.
And we want to say good night. God bless. God bless. And always, always, always keep fighting the fight.
Thanks for listening to the voice of the Christian resistance. What's right? What's left? Hosted by Pastor Ernie Sanders.
To learn more about our ministry, please visit us online at www.WRWL.org. Please tune in next time for another edition of What's Right? What's Left? The preceding program is sponsored by What's Right? What's Left? Ministries and is responsible for its content.
