The 700 Club - July 14, 2011

Well, welcome to The 700 Club. For today’s headlines, let’s go over to the CBN News Desk. Gordon, the controversy over Houston's veteran's Cemetery is going to court. Earlier this week we reported that veterans and their families are angry after they were told they could not use words like “God” at VA funerals. Dale Hurd has the story. A court hearing is scheduled for next week in the suit of three veterans groups against the Department of Veterans Affairs and the director of the Houston National Cemetery, Arleen Ocasio, for religious hostility and unlawful censorship. This, after the Houston National Cemetery banned the mention of "God" at funerals for vets. Nobleton Jones is a member of the VFW Honor Guard at the Houston VA Cemetery, told by Ocasio, to stop mentioning God. On March the 15th, she said I could not say, at the District 4 Ceremonial Detail, I could not say, “We wish you and your family, that God grant you and your family grace, mercy, and peace." And that makes me feel small, even after I spent my time in the military being able to fight for that right so they would be able to say that. The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued a statement saying, "The name of ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’ is not only allowed, it is freely spoken at VA national cemeteries across the country." And the VA repeated the substance of that claim in a letter to Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison obtained by CBN News. But the Liberty Institute’s lead counsel Kelly Shackleford says the VA’s denial contradicts what happened when the VA was first approached about the ban on the mention of God at Houston National Cemetery. We sent a letter to the VA Administration. We said, “Look, here's what's happened. This is a violation of the law." This went all the way to the highest, to their general counsel who said, “We're not changing our position." So it really left us with no choice, and the judge issued a very strong restraining order, the Federal Judge saying the government cannot tell somebody how to pray. All we're asking is that the government make things right for us. Houston National Cemetery director Arleen Ocasio did not return our call requesting a comment. Dale Hurd, CBN News. A Federal Judge has temporarily blocked a New York City law that forced Crisis pregnancy centers there to reveal that they do not perform abortions. The American Center for Law and Justice went to court against the law. The ACLJ says it violates several constitutional rights of pro-life groups, forcing them to express views about abortion and contraception contrary to their beliefs and convictions. The court agreed saying that the law violated the First Amendment right of free speech. CeCe Heil, senior counsel with the ACLJ says, “The court clearly understood that this law punishes pro-life advocates.” The city plans to appeal that ruling. There's even more pressure now on the deficit reduction talks in Washington. Moody's now says it may downgrade the government’s credit rating. That news comes with word that the president walked out of a heated debt limit talks last night. Heather Sells has that story. The stalemate in Washington could have serious implications for millions of Americans, especially with the news that Moody’s may downgrade the nation's credit rating. I think it's fairly safe to say that the stock market would get hit. The bond market would get hit. The economy would get hit. Moody's Investors Service says it could place the US credit rating under review for downgrade even if an agreement is reached to raise the debt ceiling. The ratings agency says it will downgrade the nation's credit unless the deal puts future borrowing and spending under control. If these debt negotiations have convinced us of anything, it's that we can't leave it to politicians in Washington to make the difficult decisions they need to get our fiscal house in order. President Obama is raising the stakes walking out of negotiations after Eric Cantor suggested a short-term increase to the nation's credit limit. The president warned the legislators, “Don't call my bluff.” Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is warning that failure to raise the debt ceiling before the August 2nd deadline would be disastrous. A huge financial calamity which in turn would affect everybody. And financial advisors are warning Americans to take a look at their own financial holdings. Not a better time than now to make sure that you are not overexposed to any one particular area that might get hit. The administration and lawmakers are back at it again today with just a little over two weeks until the August 2nd deadline. Heather Sells, CBN News. Several Republican presidential candidates are refusing to sign a marriage pledge introduced by a conservative pro-family group. Mitt Romney was the first. Now Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich, and Herman Cain have also decided not to sign. The pledge comes from an Iowa-based group called “The Family Leader.” It asks candidates to support the Defense of Marriage Act, outlaw pornography, and ban gay marriage. Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum have signed the pledge. Now let's go back to Terry to find out what's ahead on today's 700 Club. Coming up, the owner of a trucking company whose weekly gas bill goes from $20,000-$50,000. Freight slowed down. The economy, everything tightened up. You know, everything we had was sinking into the business, and we just wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. See how this man and his wife increase their business profit during tough times, when we come back. Still ahead . . . . My internal clock told me that I was getting ready to die. . . . . have you ever wondered what's on the other side? And I began to rise out of my body. Meet a man who knows firsthand. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. On today's 700 Club. I've never been more alive than I was at that moment. This is the information retailers don't want you to know, especially now. They don't want you to learn just how much money you've been giving away to retail markups on items you purchase for your home, all because you don't know how to buy like the insiders do at DirectBuy Club, the home improvement and furnishings club with direct insider prices. When you go to DirectBuy, you know that things are going to be a lot less than retail, and you don't have to worry about sales. It's just one price, and it's a low price, too. I would shop around and investigate; and without a shadow of a doubt, DirectBuy would have the lowest price. Members buy top-quality name brand merchandise from hundreds and hundreds of trusted manufacturers. So call the number on your screen now, and we'll rush you your free visitors pass to your local DirectBuy Club and your certificate for a free 30-day membership. This is a limited offer, so call now. Well, over the past two years, America’s trucking industry has been hit hard by the recession. For Ricky Bibbs and his wife, business went down and the bills piled up. As owners of a trucking company, Ricky and Winna Bibbs watched fuel bills climb from their normal 20,000 dollars a week up to 50,000 dollars per week. Freight slowed down. The economy, everything tightened up. Everything we had was sinking into the business, and we just wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. That’s just where you just lay on the Lord, and then you just say, “Hey, God, this is in your hands. We’re trying to do this to glorify you.” And if He wants us in the business, He’ll keep us there. Ricky and Winna were faithful tithers, and had been CBN partners for years. During this recession, Ricky was inspired by Operation’s Blessing’s ministry to a local food bank. Ricky had a desire to give even more. My first response was, “Not right now. Wait until a better time.” You can’t wait until a convenient time, because the need is here. The opportunity is here. And so you’ve got to just be willing to trust God and leave it with Him. So they called CBN and increased their commitment from 20 dollars to 500 dollars a month. Ricky scraped by from week to week with no real change. However, with a new year, they saw a major breakthrough in their business. All of a sudden, it’s just like a change in the atmosphere. We’ve had local business keep us busy six days a week. And I thought, that has to be from God. I tried for years to get local and couldn’t get it. God has just opened up doors. We’ve had more freight than we can handle. We’ve signed two or three new contracts. And we’ve just seen God do great things for us. Recently, Steadfast TransContinent added four trucks to its lineup. The only place in the Bible that God gives us the right to test Him, and He says, “Test Me. Try Me. Prove Me with your offerings and see if I don’t open up the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing that you won’t even be able to receive.” And so I’m just crazy enough to believe that. And you can be crazy enough to believe it. Here it is from the Bible. It’s Proverbs 11 . . . . . . . . “Give freely and become more wealthy. Be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper. Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. It seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? You give, and it’s given unto you. That’s what the Bible says. And when you live by these standards, by these rules, if you’re just crazy enough to believe it, well, then, yes, you can have prosperity. You can have the blessings of God overtake you, and you can live in security that God is watching out for you. Terry. When Samuel’s grandfather dropped him off at an orphanage, he thought he was giving his grandson a better life, but he didn’t know that the orphanage was struggling to feed the children who already lived there. Samuel was only two when his parents abandoned him, and he went to live with his grandpa. The man cared for the boy as long as he could until there wasn’t enough food left for two. That’s when he came to live here, at this home for children in Thailand. This is Pastor Therasorn:  I felt very sorry for him. He was very thin. My heart was moved with compassion for him, so we took him in.  But Pastor Therasorn faced a challenge of his own. He had a growing number of children coming to live there, and this was the only place he had for his staff to prepare meals for 16 people. When CBN’s Orphan's Promise learned about the children’s needs, we provided them with money to build a new kitchen, and a dining room which allows all the children to sit and eat together. And Samuel is no longer too thin. He now gets three meals a day and a warm bed to sleep in, all thanks to CBN partners.  Thank you, CBN. Thank you.  These are precious children living high in the mountains of Thailand. They had so little. We were able to give them beds, mattresses, deliver food to them, and then saw the kitchen situation that they were in, and it was a wonderful opportunity to make every meal special for them, every meal possible for them, so that grandfathers who are desperate, grandfathers who are wanting and needing to do something special for their children, so they have a hope and a future, have a place that they can take them. And Pastor Therasorn is an amazing man, investing himself, his wife investing herself, in the lives of these children. That’s just one of the things we’re doing around the world. When you join the 700 Club, you make all of this possible. Will you partner with us? Will you say, “Yes, I want to be a part of touching lives like that?” All you have to do is go to your phone and call us right now. The commitment is 65 cents a day, 20 dollars a month. That makes you a part of the family of ministries from here. Go now: 1-800-759-0700. You can also log on to CBN.com. And when you give, give through something we call Pledge Express. It’s electronic monthly giving. It means your bank does all the work. But our way of saying thank you for saving us some administrative costs is to send you “Power for Life” teachings each month. This will bless you, and you’ll have the privilege of knowing that you’re touching the lives of others the moment you call. So please, let us hear from you right now. Gordon. Well, coming up, a patient who slipped away during surgery. Everything was going haywire down below me. They were saying, “I’m going to lose him.” It looked like it was a disaster going on, but it was the sweetest day of my life. I never had any pain, and I never had any fear. See where this man went, what he saw, and why he came back. Coming up later . . . . Hitler becomes chancellor in 1933, and everything changes. The true story of a forgotten hero. What the Nazis have done to the Jews in Germany, they have done to God’s people. The man who sacrificed his life trying to save the world. He could justify being involved in a direct assassination plot. Sometimes God requires you in obedience to take action. And it cost him. It always does. Our world moves at an incredible pace, people everywhere rushing to their destinations. But there is a destiny that awaits each one of us, and all of us will face life’s ultimate question: where will I spend eternity? In his new DVD, Life Beyond the Grave, Pat Robertson introduces you to real people with remarkable stories of Heaven and riveting accounts of Hell. You’ll learn what the Bible has to say about life after death. The Bible tells us that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. Life Beyond the Grave will build your faith as God’s promises come alive, prepare you to face your eternity, and provide you with a powerful witnessing tool to share with your loved ones. I want you to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your destiny is sealed forever in Heaven. My name is Roger Stump, and I’m a cancer survivor. The surgeon said it's inoperable. “It's already in your liver.” My wife, Brenda, sat there and cried; and I'm thinking, “I can't die right now. I'm only 52 years old.” I was so distraught. I've heard Cancer Treatment Centers of America have experience with pancreatic cancers. It was like night and day. The hospital just breeds an environment of hope. You get a CT scan, and the next morning the results were read to you. We’d go up there; I just knew it was going to be a good result. You could just see the joy on Dr. Granik’s face. Call now and we’ll show you how the most compassionate people anywhere put you at the center of everything we do. Together, we'll explore real treatment options you may not even know exist. Cancer Treatment Centers of America. It is such a different place, because they give you hope. I would strongly urge you to call them and get a second opinion. Please call today. When Jeffrey Thompson checked into the hospital, he was expecting to undergo routine surgery. But there was nothing routine about Jeffrey’s operation. And when he checked out of the hospital, he was not the same man. Law practice is a stressful environment, and you’re dealing with a lot of very difficult situations. I used to wake up with a knot in my stomach every morning, feeling that stress. He just was burdened by work. It was always on his mind. It was a hard thing for him to turn off on the weekends or to get away from it. I was just focused so intently on my career that I was letting what was really important fall by the wayside. Jeffrey Thompson’s law practice didn’t take just his time and energy, the fast pace and the constant stress also took a toll on his body. I maintained that stress and it continued to work on me and it also continued to work on my body, and eventually it broke down. I began having stomach pains, severe stomach pains. Initially I just had no idea what it was. I thought I had an appendix rupture. Jeffrey had developed diverticulitis, a painful condition that attacks the intestinal wall. Months of natural treatments had failed and his condition had become so advanced, he needed surgery to remove part of his intestine. But what looked like a textbook operation left him suspended between life and death. And I woke up to a surgeon pulling a sheet off of my stomach. And as I looked down I knew immediately something was terribly wrong. And then I looked into the surgeon’s eyes and I could see concern on his face. He had been hemorrhaging for almost 24 hours, and they had continually given him blood, but it was hemorrhaging into his abdomen, and they didn’t know it, into his stomach. It was frightening. I’ve never seen anyone so pale. But his lips were just completely white. My internal clock told me that I was getting ready to die, and I only had a few seconds of consciousness left. I reached up to grab my wife. I was just wanting to tell her how much I loved her and tell her that I was getting ready to leave her. And I went to him, and it was right after that I lost him. I could tell he left. He took my hand and then he was gone. And my life came to my center torso, and I began to rise out of my body up into that room. Everything was going haywire down below me. They were saying, “I’m going to lose him.” They were doing everything they knew to keep him alive at that point. It looked like it was a disaster going on, but it was the sweetest day of my life. I never had any pain, and I never had any fear. As Jeffrey’s spirit hovered above his body, a light appeared. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. It started in the center of the room toward the ceiling and began to filter out into that room. And I was immediately drawn to it. And as it began to hit objects in that room, color came flooding out like I’ve never seen before. My senses became enhanced. I could see everything in that room with perfect clarity. There was an entire dimension that we just simply don’t see on earth. I’ve never been more alive than I was at that moment. It was incredible. I suddenly had an overwhelming sense of God’s presence, of His love, of His peace, of His joy. The thing that was just so incredible to me was how the Maker of this universe, who can make the sun, the moon, and the stars, and this earth, and us, can come down and hold me and comfort me and love me as if I’m the only person in the universe. And I remember thinking about the prodigal son. That’s what came to mind for me, that long lost son that had gone out and strayed, and he had come back home. And his father was coming out to hold him, and to love him, and to welcome him back. That’s what was happening to me. It’s the sweetest love there is. I told Him I wanted to go with Him, and then I had a fleeting thought, “But what about Madeline, my wife, and what about Will?” My sweet wife is just falling apart down below me, and I had never her that way. And I’m up here in complete comfort, in complete peace, in complete joy. And then God told me internally I was going to go back. But I remember jolting in my bed, and I opened my eyes. And when I opened my eyes, I’m looking at the surgeon, and he’s saying, “I’m losing him. We’ve got to get him back into surgery.” Jeffrey was rushed back into surgery where doctors stopped the bleeding. When he finally regained consciousness, Jeffrey had a new understanding of God’s amazing love and presence in his life. God loves you more than you’ve ever known. He knows your circumstances. He knows what you’re going through. I used to wake up with a knot in my stomach. I wake up with joy in my heart. I know He’s with me. You can’t go through something like that and not be a changed man. He has a peace about him. He’s a very peaceful and very centered. He’s really not fearful of anything now. Jeffrey’s recovery was long and difficult, but the peace, joy, and love of God he found on the day he faced death is now with him in everything he does. There’s a peace and a love there like I can’t describe to you. And it’s an entirely different way of living. I’ve never enjoyed living more. And I understand now what’s really important. I want to live for God, and I pray that He’ll give me the opportunity to continue to do that. I want to live for God. Once you’ve seen eternity, once you’ve experienced it, yes, then you want to live for Him. You don’t want to live for yourself any longer. And how do you live for Him? Do good for other people. Help them. Love them. Once you know that unconditional love, that peace, that joy, then it’s just a natural outflow. You want to love other people. For you, are you like Jeffrey? Are you so caught up in what you’re doing, in your career, that you wake up every morning with that knot? Are you worried about your future, worried about your job, worried are you going to have that job tomorrow? Are you worried about the economy, worried about the world situation, politics? All the things that in today’s world bring us stress, bring us worry. Cares and concerns. God never intended that for us. His dream was that we would live in a garden and we’d go about and name things, experience things, have a sense of the wonder and awe at the majesty of God, the majesty of creation. That was His plan. His plan was in the cool of the evening He’d come down and talk with us, be with us, give us all the peace and joy that comes from His presence. That was His plan. We messed it up. We thought we could do it our way. We didn’t want to obey the rules that He had set out. But the good news is that just like the prodigal son, God is waiting for us. He’s looking out. And He has that just infinite capacity to treat each one of us as an individual, to literally stop everything He’s doing and bend down and smile over you. The great revelation to know that, yes, He’ll leave the 99 to go look for the one lost, and He’s looking for you right now. Just as He was for Jeffrey, He’s looking for you. And He’s got this message for you, “I love you. I want to work on your behalf. I want to be with you. I can take care of all the problems. I can take care of all the sins. I can make you new again.” If this is for you, if you want this, you don’t need a near death experience to find it. All you have to do is ask Him. And you say, “God, if you’re real, if this is true, if you’re there, if Jesus really came, if He really took care of everything, will you show me? Can I experience this for myself? Can I know this in my heart?” And if you pray that with all of your heart, well, then you find Him. The Bible is real clear, “When you seek Me with all of your heart, you’ll find Me.” So seek Him right now. Ask Him right now. Bow your head right now, and let Him come to you. Pray with me. “Jesus.” That’s right. Say it out loud. “Jesus, I want to know you. I want you in my heart. I want you to forgive me of all the things that I’ve done wrong. And Jesus, if you’ll do this, I want to follow you all the days of my life. Hear my prayer, for I pray it in Jesus’ name. Amen.” If you prayed with me, the Bible says that if you’ll believe in your heart and then confess with your mouth, you shall be saved. What I want you to do is make a toll free call: 1-800-759-0700. Just tell the person that answers that phone call that you prayed with that guy on TV. When you call, we’ve got a free packet for you on how to live the Christian life. It’s called “A New Day.” And, yes, you just started the first day of a whole new journey with God. The packet is free. The phone call is free. Make it right now: 1-800-759-0700. Terry, over to you. Up next, a look back at a pastor, prophet, theologian, and spy. Now the entire conspiracy is completely exposed. At that moment, of course, Bonheoffer’s days are numbered. Scott Ross talks with author Eric Metaxas about the extraordinary life and death of Dietrich Bonheoffer. I didn’t understand what love was. I didn’t have a good example. I knew of God, and I would often think to myself, “God if your real, help me in this situation.” I told the Lord; I said, “God, I don’t have anything to offer you. It’s just me and my little baby, and I don’t have anything together.” I had peace; it was so refreshing. He loves you so much that He died for you. And if He can do all of this in my life, He can do it for you. Watch your mail for the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes or go to pch.com and enter. This August 31st you could win $5000 every week for life. Welcome back to The 700 Club The Freedom From Religion Foundation is trying to cancel Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s prayer meeting. The organization filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday. It says the governor’s call for a day of prayer violates the Constitutional ban on the government establishment of a religion. Gov. Perry has invited the president, the nation's governors, and Texas lawmakers to attend the August 6th prayer meeting in Houston. A spokesman for the event calls the lawsuit legal harassment. A judge has tossed out a lawsuit by former New York city firefighter against the Ground Zero Mosque. Timothy Brown was trying to stop the building of a mosque near the World Trade Center. Brown was one of the firefighters who responded to the attacks on 9/11. The judge ruled that Brown has no legal standing to bring the suit. The American Center for Law and Justice says it plans to appeal the ruling. Critics call the project an insult to 9/11 victims. A lawyer for the developer calls it a quote, “Victory for America.” You can always get the latest from CBN news by going to our website at CBNNew.com. Gordon and Terry will be back with more of The Club after this. For years I’ve been telling people how great the Total Gym is. And now we’re going to make you a promise. If you use the Total Gym for 10 weeks, you will see a dramatic change in your body. Guaranteed. How can we make the Total Gym guarantee? A recent study showed that the Total Gym provides all three components of a complete workout: stretching, aerobic activity, and resistance training. We're so confident that you'll love the Total Gym; we're making this money back guarantee. Here's what Total Gym did for these people. I went from a size 12 to a size 2. This is before the Total Gym, size 44. I went from 12 to a size 5/6. I went from a size 8 into a size 2. The Total Gym has given me an incredible lower body. It's easy to store, easy to set up, and fun to use. If I can do it, you can do it. Join the Total Gym 10 and see the difference. Use it for 10 weeks and see a dramatic difference or your money back. Call 1-800-898-2603 or go to TotalGym10.com right now. John Mapes is 42. Mortgage, married, two great kids. He wants to protect his family with a 500,000-dollar term life insurance policy. What do you think it will cost him? A hundred dollars a month? Sixty? Forty? Actually, none of the above. John can get a 500,000-dollar policy from a highly rated insurer for under 25 dollars a month. His secret? SelectQuote. SelectQuote is impartial. They’ll search the pick of insurers like these to give you a choice of your best prices. SelectQuote has great savings on term life for women, too. John’s wife, Carrie, can get a 500,000-dollar policy for under 16 dollars a month. SelectQuote has helped make term life insurance affordable for hundreds of thousands of people since 1985. How about you? Just call this number or visit selectquote.com. On July 20, 1944, the closest attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler failed. As a result, the resistance movement in Germany was destroyed and almost 5,000 people were executed. Theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonheoffer was one of them. Germany, 1939. Hitler’s rise to power stunned everyone with its speed and ferocity. The world watched in horror as the Nazis bullied first a nation and then a continent. But in Germany, a resistance was building that worked to dismantle the third Reich from the inside. Their primary aim: assassinate Hitler. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and pastor, was a leader in the cause. I sat down with author Eric Metaxas to discuss his new bestseller on Bonhoeffer’s life of faith. (Interviewing): Bonhoeffer, subtitle: “pastor, martyr, prophet, spy.” Wow. Why Bonhoeffer? Why do you want to do this? Today as Christians we need role models. We need people. But there’s something about Bonhoeffer. To me he’s the ultimate role model for Christians today. Bonhoeffer grew up in an educated and artistic family in Germany. His father was a distinguished brain chemist, while his brother worked with Albert Einstein to split the atom. Bonhoeffer chose the field of theology. And while doing postgraduate studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York, he was surprised by what he found or rather what he didn’t find. (Reading): “In New York, they preach about virtually everything. Only one thing is not addressed or is addressed so rarely, I have yet been able to hear it, namely the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the cross, sin, forgiveness, death, and life.” (Interviewing): That sounds like today. That’s 80 years ago he wrote those words about the state of mainstream Protestantism in New York City. While he didn’t find sound theology in most of the churches in New York, he was inspired when he went to an Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. And for the first time in his life, he sees African Americans worshipping, the Gospel preached with fire, with power. Everything about it touched his heart, moved him. And so he went every single Sunday, not just to worship, but to teach Sunday school. I think he also taught some adult Sunday school, so he got very involved. This is a white German in a black church in the beginning of the 1930s, right? It’s amazing. Yes. It’s amazing. He really was gripped by the whole idea of the racism and race relations in the US. There was nothing to compare this to in Germany. In other words, this was an American problem. Of course, just a couple of years later, Hitler becomes chancellor in 1933, and everything changes. Suddenly now Bonhoeffer is facing, in Germany, exactly what he saw here. He saw a group of people, the Jews, being made to be second class citizens, and he was, from day one, vocally fighting against it, one of the few Christians who understood what he saw. He had foreknowledge. It was almost like a prophetic insight into what was coming in Germany in regard to Hitler. He read it early out. I believe it was a prophetic insight. And it cost him. It always does.  To try to tell the German church, what became the Reich church, that Hitler was evil. Nobody was buying this then. No, it’s a stunning thing to see how the churches and how the conservatives were co-opted and snowed by Adolph Hitler. Hitler was a genius in that he was profoundly cynical to the bottom, and he used the churches brilliantly. Bonhoeffer helped found the confessing church, which opposed Hitler and the third Reich, primarily their anti-Christian and anti-Jewish stands. But even within the confessing church, Bonhoeffer was almost alone in recognizing the depth of the problem. He was always a step ahead and trying to rally them. And a few times he succeeded, but mostly he was alone. Another issue that obviously came to the fore was identification with “the Gospel comes first to the Jew, then to the gentile.” That cost him. Bonhoeffer is reading the scriptures and trying to show his fellow Christians that in the church there is neither Jew nor Greek. There’s neither Jew nor gentile. If a Jew wants to be a part of this church, we are obligated as Christians to welcome him in, to worship with him. This is the place Bonhoeffer said, “The church is the place where Jew and Christian stand together.” Now, not only could the Nazis not see this, but many in the church could not see this. He wrote a circular letter where he’s basically saying that what the Nazis have done to the Jews in Germany they have done to God’s people. The burning of the synagogues, this is an attack on God. A spy. A spy. How did he become a spy? 1939 comes around and Bonhoeffer realizes he will be drafted, but he would not fight in Hitler’s war. Bonhoeffer sailed to safety in America, but after only 26 days there, he was on the last ship to cross the Atlantic before the war started. He’s seeking the will of God, and the Lord calls him back to Germany. He knew, “I will have no peace in New York.” Well, Bonhoeffer’s family were all very, very involved in the conspiracy against Adolph Hitler. He had been providing the moral support, but this was the moment of decision, “Do I take another step?” Bonhoeffer joined the Abwehr, German military intelligence, as a double agent. He acted as a courier for the Third Reich, but used these opportunities to make contact with the allied forces across Europe. (Interviewing): He had it absolutely resolved in his mind philosophically, spiritually, biblically that he could justify being involved in a direct assassination plot. Oh, yes. How did he resolve that with say Bible verses, Romans 13, that said you’re supposed to obey those in authority? Even many good Germans had no idea what was really going on, but Bonhoeffer knew. And he thought, “If I, as a Christian, am unwilling to get my hands dirty to protect scores of thousands and millions of innocent Jews, I will not be able to stand before a holy God.” And to have some fussy theological argument about, “Well, do I do…” Sometimes God requires you, in obedience, to take action. But before the assassination plan could be carried out, Bonhoeffer was arrested and sent to Tegel military prison. He was involved in trying to get a number of Jews out of Germany to safety. Bonhoeffer was still in prison awaiting trial on July 20th, 1944, when the plot to assassinate Hitler failed. Now the entire conspiracy, which has been working on and off for practically ten years, is completely exposed. At that moment, of course, Bonhoeffer’s days are numbered. Bonhoeffer was transferred to a Gestapo prison and then to a concentration camp. On April 9, 1945, with the sound of American guns in the distance, Bonhoeffer was executed by hanging under the direct order of Hitler. Less than three weeks later, Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrendered to the allies. It’s really tempting for us to look at this as a great tragedy. It’s so sad, but I think that Bonhoeffer himself would rebuke us for having that point of view. And he would say, “Yes, there’s a sadness, but to serve God with everything you have unto death is the greatest joy of life.” What’s the message of his legacy to 21st century Christians or non-Christians? He’s the ultimate witness to a world that is not Christian, that he calls people to God with an authenticity that is literally, in my experience, unique. And it’s a very, very important thing for us to understand that this man was a prophet of God and he was utterly obedient to the Lord. For me, the joy of telling the story is to rediscover Bonhoeffer for a generation that never knew him. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the real thing. The real thing. He was the real thing. When he wrote his wonderful book, The Cost of Discipleship, he opened with this line, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” And Dietrich Bonheoffer certainly paid that price, and he paid with his own life. But it was not without his own internal struggle as he looked at what Adolf Hitler was doing to Germany. He had this to say to a friend, “It is not only my task to look after the victims of madmen who drive a motorcar in a crowded street, but to do all in my power to stop their driving at all.” And with that, he came to his own conclusion that he had to join the resistance, that he had to literally sacrifice his own righteousness, and that’s how he put it, “I have to sacrifice my righteousness, so I can stop Adolf Hitler.” Now, when you look at the atrocities of the Nazis, you have to look at it from the standpoint of who built the prison camps, who built the ovens, who built the gas chambers. They had to know what the purpose was. Who operated them? Who loaded the trains? Who unloaded the trains? Each step of this way, you look at it from the outside, and you go, there is guilt here. There is blame here. Why didn’t they stand up for what was right? Why did the Protestant Church of Germany fail so miserably in stopping Hitler? Well, there is a professor at Yale. He asked the same question. And he asked it during the time of the Adolf Eichmann trial in 1961. And what he asked was, “What is the validity of the so-called Nuremberg defense, that, “I was just under orders. I was just obeying orders.” And with that, you get the dichotomy of Romans chapter 13, where Paul commands us to obey those in authority. The other side of that, you have what Peter and John said to the Sanhedrin when they ordered them not to preach the Gospel. They said, “We can’t help but obey God. Which do we obey, man or God? We can’t help but obey God.” And that’s the choice that every Christian is faced with. If you think this is an isolation, and somehow you, if you were in Nazi Germany, you wouldn’t have obeyed, well, think again, because Stanley Milgram found an incredible result. Going into this experiment, he did a survey of the Psychology Department at Yale, both the students and the professors. And they all said, “Well, you’ll probably get one to two percent of the participants actually going forward and obeying orders to literally kill somebody. That will be the response rate. Everybody else is going to be strong morally and they’re going to turn against authority. They won’t do it. Well, here’s his experiment. You have three participants. You have an experimenter, the participant, and the supposed victim. And all of this is made up. And what was going on was a series of progressive electrical shocks, each 15 volts higher. And what was going on is the experimenter is dressed in a lab coat. He’s there on behalf of science, and we’re measuring the effects of memory. Then you have an actor in another room. And this actor in the other room would make pretend screams, and then they would have piped in electrical noises as the electrical shock is administered. And then the actor would start complaining that he has a heart condition, and this is killing him. And in this whole process, the participant, the subject of the experiment, is told to continue to administer shocks. Every time the actor gets it wrong on the memory test, they’re supposed to continue to give them shocks. Well, as you’d expect, most people start objecting. And then the authority figure, the experimenter in the lab coat, would come in, and he’d give them four different prompts. These were all scripted for every single one. The first time the subject objected, the experimenter would say, “Please continue.” And usually that was all it took. Just a “Please continue,” and they would continue to administer shocks. And then as the thing progressed, they’d go to number two, “The experiment requires that you continue.” And then when it got worse, it was number three, “It’s absolutely essential that you continue.” And then they got to number four, “You have no other choice. You must go on.” And then they would add a little kicker, “There is no tissue damage happening. This is fine.” Well, what were the results? And if you think you wouldn’t be part of this, 25 of the 40 participants administered the highest lethal shock, and what in their minds was 450 volts of electricity. Now, the average outlet in the home in America is 110 volts. In Europe it’s 220 volts. It’s a lethal shock. And when you start thinking 25 of 40 participants went all the way to kill someone in an experiment. There was only one participant who would not go over 300 volts. And that one participant was studying electrical engineering and had personally experienced shocks, and said, “I don’t care what you’re doing. I know this hurts. I’m not going to do it anymore.” Well, that’s what the results were. And these weren’t just average participants. Every one of the people here were all Yale students. And many of them suffered trauma after this experiment, because they realized they, too, were capable of killing when someone ordered them to. You look at the genocide, you look at what happened under Hitler, and you say, “Never again.” Well, genocides have been happening again and again. Just since 1950, here are the genocides with over 500,000 victims: Cambodia, Rwanda, Pakistan, Indonesia, and currently in Sudan, one of the greatest human tragedies of our day. All of this happening, because people are obeying orders and not obeying God. So today, make up your mind. Are you going to be a Peter and John? Would you have the willingness to stand up to the Sanhedrin, knowing that your very life was at stake? Would you have the courage of a Bonheoffer, knowing your very life is at stake, whatever position you have? Would you obey God, or would you obey authority? Terry, over to you. Up next, a man in so much pain he couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think straight. Throughout the day I was having a hard time concentrating at different times. I definitely felt like I was at a dead end. But now he’s pain free, and you’ll see why when we come back. When you look in the mirror, can you imagine erasing years of aging? That's what I used to look like. Lifestyle Lift takes only about an hour. See the difference immediately. I'm Linda. I'm 70 years old. Can you believe it? Call now for a free information kit. It's quick, affordable, and takes only about an hour. Lifestyle Lift, a breakthrough medical procedure that helps remove wrinkles, frown lines and sagging skin. Call now for a free information kit. Consultations are free. Call Lifestyle Lift today. You’ve just won the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes! Watch your mail for the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes or go to pch.com and enter. This August 31st you could win $5000 every week for life. Steve Ridler knows the power of prayer firsthand. At one time, he suffered from intense jaw pain. Steve didn’t know what to do, until he turned on the TV. My TMJ was keeping me from enjoying foods that I liked. I couldn’t eat on the right side of my jaw. I couldn’t open my mouth as far as I needed to. I had to chew my food on my left side, and I still couldn’t bite down really hard. So it took me a while to eat a sandwich. And the pain was very severe. It was causing me to lose sleep. Throughout the day, I was having a hard time concentrating at different times. I would try stretching it. I would try working it. I definitely felt like I was at a dead end. I was sitting on my couch trying to study when The 700 Club came on, and Gordon talked about somebody out there that had pain in the right side of their jaw. There’s someone else with pain in your right jaw, and it goes deep. I knew that was me. And you’re going to be able to move that joint in the right jaw. What you couldn’t do before, do it now, and realize God has just healed you. And I put my hand on my jaw and closed my eyes while he prayed; and the pain just went away. It was just gone. I was shocked. I was amazed. There was no way that I did it or a doctor did it. It was right then. It was purely God healing. And that healing gave me a really good testimony, a good testimony to bring to talk to people and to tell that that God is real, He’s right there, He’s just waiting for us to open up and let Him in, let Him do what He wants to do. Can you imagine how exciting that must have been for Steve, in total pain one moment, unable to do any of the things he wanted to, and then, like that, God moves and touches him and heals him. You can have that happen for you today, too. I know there are many of you who are watching, and you have your own needs, whether it’s a physical healing or an emotional healing, something that’s really, really interrupting your life. Well, we want to bless you with some other stories of how God has touched people. It’s not just Steve. This is Maggie. She lives in Winchester, Kentucky. In 2008, Maggie was in a car accident. She suffered a head trauma with a skull fracture and bleeding in her brain. After surgery and physical therapy, she still had knots on her skull and suffered from tremendous pain in her head for two years. She lost her memory, didn’t even know her own husband. Then, on August 9th, she fell asleep watching television. When she woke up, The 700 Club was on, and she heard you, Gordon, saying, “There is a woman. You’ve been in a car accident. You have a skull fracture. It’s on the right side, going from the back to the temple. God has just healed you. He has taken the pain away. There is no more memory loss. There is more effect from the concussion or bleeding in the brain. You are healed. This is a tremendous miracle for you. You are completely restored now, in Jesus’ name.” Maggie said her head started tingling. Immediately, the pain and the knots disappeared, and her memory has been totally restored. Wow. That’s a miracle. That is a miracle. That’s a miracle. I didn’t know Maggie. Still don’t know Maggie. I still don’t know Maggie. I’d like meet Maggie. Maybe one day I’ll meet Maggie. Up in Heaven I’ll meet Maggie. But God knew Maggie. God knew Maggie. God knows you. He knows what your trouble is. He sees your hurt. He sees your pain. He sees your tears. He’s able. And He’s just longing for you to turn to Him. Jesus said it clearly in Matthew chapter 13, right before the parable of the sower, “Lest I should turn and they should be healed. Lest they turn and I should heal them.” All that’s required on our part is to turn, stop letting our symptoms, stop letting whatever it is that separates us from God, stop letting that interfere and turn. Let the Word come to you. That’s the whole point of that parable of the sower, is the Word come, that it doesn’t fall on stony ground, it doesn’t fall on ground with thorns, where the cares or concerns choke it out, drown it out. But it falls on good soil, where you can say, just as Maggie said, “That can be me. That’s me. That’s God speaking to me.” Now, it’s my favorite time of the program, where we get to pray for you. We get to lift you up and have God answer your prayer. The Bible is very specific. We get to go boldly to the throne of grace and receive mercy. So what do you need? Start thinking, “Okay, can it be for me?” Yes. The Bible says if any are sick, let them call for the elders. Let them pray. The prayer of faith will raise them up. Are you part of any? Can that be you right now? The answer is yes. The answer is yes and amen, for all the promises of God are yes and amen for those who are in Christ Jesus. So Terry and I are going to agree. We’re going to agree with you. There is a great verse, “If two or more agree touching anything.” So in an act of faith, reach out and touch. Lay hands on that area of the body that needs healing. Terry and I will agree, and we’ll let God do all the rest for you. Pray with us. “Lord, we just lift the needs of the audience to you. And as people are laying hands on that area of the body that needs healing, we just come into agreement with them. And we speak over them and we say it out loud. Be healed and be made whole. In Jesus’ name, we claim your healing today.” There’s someone, you’re having recurring headaches as a result of a concussion. You heard about Maggie’s story, and you’re saying, “Could that be for me? Can that happen to me?” And the answer is yes. And those headaches are leaving you right now, in Jesus’ name. And they’re never going to come back. Someone else, you’ve been diagnosed with vision loss related to a detached retina. You’re in the beginning stages. You’re starting to see flashes of light. And God is able to heal and restore and reattach your retina right now, in Jesus’ name. Be healed and be made whole. Terry. Somebody else, you’ve been in an accident, and you’ve injured something in your nose, and you haven’t been able to smell things. And God is restoring that to you. You’re just going to feel this kind of odd, almost a little bit of a burning sensation in your nose as all of that comes alive again. There is someone else, your name is Maria. You’re of Hispanic descent, and you have felt like you’ve prayed for something for the longest time and that God has just chosen not to answer your prayer. Today is your day, Maria. God hasn’t chosen not to answer you. He’s been waiting for this moment. And He will be glorified. What you’ve asked for, receive now, in Jesus’ name. Someone with tremendous problems in your intestines. You’ve had a blockage. And the doctors are telling you that part of your intestine has died. And God is able to raise it back up to life. And He is giving you life now. You just felt it move deep within that intestine. And you’re healed now, in Jesus’ name. Amen. If you’ve been touched by God, we want to share in your good report, so give us a call: 1-800-759-0700. We’re always here to pray for you 24 hours a day. We leave you with these wonderful words from II Kings . . . . . . . . “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Surely I will heal you.’” Here at CBN, we see amazing things happen when we stand together. That’s why we want to say thank you to the thousands of you . . . . . . . . who recently pledged to join The 700 Club. Your monthly gift makes it possible to bring crucial help to those who need it most. You help heal the sick, feed the hungry . . . . . . . . and preach the Gospel across America and throughout the world. You’ve brought health and hope to people in desperate need. And changed their lives forever. When Kitty was abandoned by her parents, she went to live with her grandmother in the middle of a garbage dump. They ate scraps of food from the dump and tried not to get bitten by the rats. That's when you built them a new home and set up a small clothing business near the market for Kitty's grandmother. You rescued them from hunger and fear. So please watch for this mailing and send in your pledge. This year millions will know . . . . The love and saving power of Jesus Christ. And that only happens, because you were there.