The 700 Club - May 27, 2011

Well, welcome to The 700 Club. It's the hottest debate in Washington right now. Will the government raised the debt ceiling? Or will it default on its payments to investors? Well, the White House says that the government has to borrow more money to keep operating but Republicans want spending cuts before they'll raise the debt ceiling. Efrem Graham has the story. I want to make it perfectly clear that Congress will raise the debt ceiling. It's been about a month since the Treasury Secretary expressed that confidence in Congress. Today there is still no deal, but there is a new warning about the danger. The outgoing chair of the FDIC told Congress, she is concerned about the US debt, but quote, "I feel just as strongly that a technical default on U.S. government obligations would prove to be calamitous." The Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has issued similar concerns. We tipped the U.S. economy and the world economy back into recession. Depression . . . . Some senators say such fears are overblown. They say even if the debt ceiling isn't raised, and the government can't borrow any more money, it will still have enough on hand to make interest payments on U.S. Treasury securities to investors for America to China and avoid a default at least for now. Raising the debt ceiling is a hot political debate in Washington at the moment. We all know what the problems are. Why don't we just deal with them. No more kicking the can down the road. No more whistling past the graveyard. Republicans have long said they will not agree to raise the ceiling unless the Democrats go along with serious spending cuts. And Reuters reports bipartisan talks on raising it have run into a roadblock, since Democrats won't cut government spending on health programs if Republicans won't consider raising taxes. Don't play games with the debt ceiling. We have to act. We can't tied to anything, because if our credit goes bad it has catastrophic implications. For now, though, the politicians are still talking, not acting. And some believe they'll keep talking right up until the August 2nd deadline before they can reach an agreement. Efrem Graham, CBN news. It's a lot of politics going on with this one, and I wish we could get past it. I agree with what Sheila Blair says. She's done a great job at FDIC, and as she's leaving she's saying please don't mess up the credit rating of the United States of America. If we do that, then we have to start paying more interest on that debt. A one percent change on a $14 trillion debt is 140 billion added to a deficit that's already out of control. So, absolutely we shouldn't mess with the credit rating. But when you get behind the politics of, "Well, let's increase the debt ceiling, and that'll solve the problem," well, no it won't. Because if you continue spending at this rate, you're going to have to raise the debt ceiling again, and again, and again, and that will have the same effect. At some point in time, not sure when, is it next year? Is it the year after? Is it the year after that? The world markets are going to say, "We don't want any more of your debt. There's so much of it washing around right now we can't absorb it all." So, we've got to come to grips with this. I hope we can come to grips with this outside of electioneering in politics. And the main things that need to be addressed are the entitlement programs, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Those are the ones with the greatest components of the deficit. Until we get serious about changing the eligibility for those entitlement programs, increasing ages, increasing age of the population, all of those things until we get serious about changing that; I read report from Bank of America that said you can completely get rid of the US military, you can completely get rid of all discretionary spending of the federal government, and you still haven't solved the deficit. That's a chilling report, and we've got to get serious it. We can't keep kicking the can down the road. Lee Webb has the rest of our top stories from the CBN newsroom. Lee. Gordon, the same weather system that caused tornadoes in the Midwest brought severe storms to the east and south Thursday. Damaging thunderstorms were reported from the Gulf Coast to New England especially in the Atlanta area. Meanwhile, the death toll from Sunday's massive tornado in Joplin, Missouri, now up to 126. More than 200 people are still missing there. Many of the missing though, are thought to be alive and safe but have not been able to contact friends and family. Rescue workers still, though, are searching for survivors. This has been one of the worst years for tornadoes in decades. Nearly 1,200 twisters have hit the country. Probably more than 500 have been killed. That is the highest death toll since 1953. So what's behind this deadly outbreak? Well, LiveScience.com reports that basically there's still cold air left over from this year snowstorms. And because of some rare changes in atmospheric winds, that cold air is mixed with unusually hot conditions in the southwest, and that has acted as fuel for these massive storms. This tornado season the bad news is it's not over yet. Gordon. It's not over yet, and our resources at Operation Blessing have been really stretched thin. The series of natural disasters in the world today is just frightening. And when you go back over the past decade, I don't think the world has ever seen this kind of catastrophe whether it's tsunamis, or earthquakes, or hurricanes, or typhoons, and now these terrible tornadoes that completely wipe out towns and cities. It's one of those where all you gotta do is to start looking and saying, where are we in the "end times?" Where are we in terms of the world situation? And then, what can we do to help those who have been, their lives have been destroyed by it? I hope that we don't get what's called "disaster fatigue," and we say we can still help them. We can still reach out. We can still help those in need. Terry. Well up next a family so poor they had to buy expired food. My son would get out his cereal, and he'd get ready to put it in, and there would be some bugs in there crawling around, and he would freak out. Hear how they tripled their income in one year. That's next. Is there life after death? And I began to rise out of my body up into that room. Are Heaven and Hell real places? I can see fields, crystal clear river, trees along both sides. What determines where I go when I die? I knew that the first person I saw was Jesus. Discover the answers to life's most important questions in the 700 Club's Life Beyond the Grave, real stories from The 700 Club. Available now. Well, it's part of the American dream being your own boss. Terry Parks got a chance to do just that when he developed a business idea simply by driving down the street. Gary Parks is a hard worker. But he never could quite make ends meet. He worked at several part-time jobs, including working at a gas station and building welders. Even with the long hours he worked, he struggled to pay the bills. Sharon remembers when they had to buy food past its expiration date for their family at the discount grocery store. My son would get out his cereal, and he'd get ready to put it in, and there would be some bugs in there crawling around, and he would freak out. We had an electric bill of 25 dollars, and we are trying to figure out where to get the money for that. Sharon started cleaning houses on the side to bring in some extra income. You'd do whatever you had to do to pay your bills, so you work. Sharon also began to pray. She asked God to fix their finances. One day she turned on The 700 Club. And he started teaching about the law of reciprocity. And it really opened my eyes about tithing and giving and reaping and sowing and how God wants to bless us. She joined the 700 Club from her small income cleaning houses. Three months later, she got a contract making 8,000 dollars a month cleaning commercial businesses. And Gary got a full-time job with benefits with the Florida department of forestry. He started watching The 700 Club with his wife and tithing from his paychecks, too. I just thought I would give this a try and see what it would do for me. That's when Gary says God gave him the idea for his new company cleaning up construction sites. I saw a brand-new house being built, and construction debris was all over the yard. And the Lord said, "You need to go and make a containment area, and you need to haul that away." I started hauling January the 1st, and January the 30th in 30 days I made more money than I did working all year long with the state of Florida forestry service. Gary went from making 30,000 dollars a year to six figures in just 12 months. There was such a demand for their work that Sharon quit her cleaning business and went to work for the hauling company. It meant the more we make the more we could give, and I was so excited for what He was doing in our lives. Gary sold his business just two months before the recession hit the housing industry. We started out with five dumpsters. When I sold the business I had 18 trucks and 300 dumpsters. It wasn't me. The Lord was the one that told me to sell the business, and it was in His timing. The Parks also taught their sons about giving, and today Kelly is a partner with his dad in a new demolition business. Our profits have tripled and our business is going up, and every year it seems we have more and more work, and we have never stopped. All it took was that one chance of giving and look where we are at now. And what He has done for me and my family, He can also do for any other family out there. I guarantee you God will bless you. Just step out and He will meet you right there wherever you're at, if it's even a penny or a dollar. He will bless you. If it's even a penny or a dollar, He will bless you. What Sharon and Gary walked into is the incredible promises of God. These are laws that He's established and says, if you'll do these things, then I'll do this. Here it is from Isaiah 58, "Is this not the fast that I've chosen. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out, when you see the naked that you cover him." When you do those things then you get the promise. Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. And you shall call, and then the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.'" Now, that's what happened with Sharon. She said, "Okay I'm going to start giving. I'm going to start giving so that others can have. I'm going to give even though my kids don't have the right food to eat." And then she said, okay, I've got to start working. It's interesting how she put that, she didn't say, "Somebody give me a job." She says, "I'm going to go out there and earn a job. And I'm going to do whatever service is necessary, and I'm going to go clean homes. And I'll be the best home cleaner that they've ever seen." Well, then she put into practice something else, you reap what you sow. The event will be given unto you. We call it the law of reciprocity. And it's one of the basic laws of the universe. Isaac Newton called it the third law of motion, for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. And so Sharon's concept that "I'm going to give, and then I'm going to serve," well then she started getting the benefit. And then she started getting ideas and what about cleaning buildings instead of homes and, "Could I put a bid in on that and can I get that contract?" And that turned into $8000 a month. Well, her husband is seeing all this and said, well if it can work for her, it can work for me, and so Gary said I'll give. And then just driving down the street, he got an idea. God spoke to him, because he was doing what God said "And then you shall call and I will answer." God spoke to him and said, create areas on this construction sites where you can gather up the wastes. And that became for him, I can serve. I can serve the contractor doing that. Well, then that turned into a big business. And then God was watching out for him, and He said, "it's time to sell the business and to go into something else." And they did all that all because they took an adventure in giving. They put the principles, the laws of the universe, they put them into practice and reaped the benefit. That can happen to you if you just change the way you think and start thinking on a regular basis, I'm going to reap what I sow. I'm going to reap what I sow, therefore you've got to increase what you sow if you want to increase what you reap. Well, today Casey Voss is working his dream job, and his business is growing every year. But it wasn't long ago that Casey and his wife were deep in debt and barely even able to buy food. When you meet Casey Voss, you're meeting a real cowboy. Casey, his wife, Natosha, and their four children live and work on this a sprawling ranch in South Dakota. With over 600 head of cattle and about 6,000 acres of land, it's long, hard work. You don't really have a day off with ranching. If it's 40 below, you're still going outside and taking care of the animals, because that's your livelihood. Casey says he wouldn't have it any other way. I'm thankful for just being around my kids and my family. But before he got his dream job of running a ranch, he was working at a cattle yard. He was a hard worker but only made a moderate income. Newly married and expecting their first child, they were soon facing a mountain of debt. The bills started adding up. Just wondering where our grocery money's going to come from, or if we're going to be able to pay bills and really what's going to happen to the family. And that weighed heavily on Casey. His parents divorced because of money. So I chased quick, get rich quick schemes, and none of them worked out. Here I was trying to provide, and my thoughts were wrong, because I needed money to keep my marriage together. And it was just horrible, because I couldn't do that. I was failing. Between credit card debt and the ill-fated business ventures, they were about $40,000 in debt, and they didn't know what to do. Then, they started watching the 700 Club in 2007. They learned something that changed their concept of money. God really laid it on our hearts that we needed to start tithing, and that we just needed to trust Him with our finances, and that He would help us through. The couple started giving, and almost instantly, they saw a change in their finances. Somehow we had money left in the checkbook every month. There's no explanation for it, because our income didn't change, and our bills didn't change, but we still had extra. Then his hard work paid off. His boss asked Casey to run two ranches and gave him 50 head of cattle. Our income was doubled right away: or as soon as we got the cows and sold our calves, and then we can just keep building from there. Casey and Natosha are now debt free, and they encourage others to make giving a priority. You need to take that first step and just put some faith in it. Trust God and just let Him take care of your checkbook and your finances. And don't worry about it, because you'll be taken care of, and He'll cover it for you. If you trust Him he'll take care of it for you. If you do things according with his principles, He'll take care of you. Here's the promise from Deuteronomy 8:18, "Remember the Lord your God." What's one of the best ways to remember Him is to obey what He tells you to do. And when you remember Him with your finances then you get the blessing. "For it is He who gives you power to get wealth. Now look at what Casey was doing there. He tried some get rich quick schemes. He was worried. His parents had divorced. Money was the reason for it. He didn't want to go through what they had gone through, so he said, "I've got to get more money. We're in debt; I've got to get more money." And so he started some get rich quick schemes which turned out to be lose your money quick schemes. And instead of just focusing in on what God wanted him to do, and God wanted to give him the desires of his heart. Well he stopped all that and said, "Okay I'm going to start giving." And then he did something else to give. He established his service with his employer. He went and said, "Okay I'm going to serve, and I'm going to serve very well." And he put into practice sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow, so whatever you're going to reap is going to be based on what you sow. And he sowed hard work into that, the employer saying, "Well I've got ranches I need run. Who among my employees can do the best job?" Well, Casey rose to the top. Casey got the benefit. Casey got the power to get wealth, because he remembered God. He remembered service and then the blessings came. Now if I can get a drum roll, we've got some great news. Some existing CBN partners like giving so much they want to share the blessing with others, and what they're saying is the next 30 minutes, they'll match you. If you decide to give they'll match you dollar for dollar, $200,000. Let's pray. Lord we just ask for blessing over this challenge and ask that you would double it, that you would triple it. And we just speak a blessing over those who made it possible, and we just know that your word, your laws come true for them. And for those watching right now, just speak to them, encourage them. I just ask that they would learn how much they can trust Your unfailing love. Be with them now in Jesus' name, amen. You heard it, $200,000, that's on the challenge, 29 minutes 55 seconds to go. We need to hear from you. What we're asking you to do is to take an adventure in giving to test God, try God. See if He won't give you the power to get wealth. And what we're asking you to do is join the 700 Club. How much is that? $20 a month, 65 cents a day. Some of you say, "I can join at a higher level." You can join at 700 Club Gold, that's $40 a month. Thousand Club is $84 a month and that adds up to $1000 a year, 2500 Club $2500 a year. A Founder is $5000 a year and then Chairman's Circle at 10,000 or more a year. At whatever level God is speaking to you to give, to test Him, to try Him. Now is the time to do it. Call us right now, 1-800-759-0700. Kristi over to you. Thank you so much Gordon. And check this out, when you call to become a 700 Club partner, we want to bless you with this. It's called, Life Beyond the Grave. Now what is this? Check this out. A couple months ago we did an entire series. It was about a weeklong series of stories, actual accounts of people who had died and went to Heaven and Hell. Oh, my Lord, people loved it so much that we put them in here. In fact you're going to hear one story of this four-year-old little boy who died, went to Heaven, met a sister there that he'd never even met before. He didn't even know she had been born. Take a look. Is there life beyond the grave? Is there a Heaven? I was busy paying bills again, and he came up and told me he had two sisters. Well, he had to say it several times before he finally got my attention. And finally I put my stuff down and looked at him, and said, "What do you mean you have two sisters?" "No, I have two sisters. You had a baby die in your tummy." And I just looked at him, how do you know you have two sisters? "Because she told me." And then he proceeded to describe her. She looked like Cassie, but she had brown hair. The first time when she saw me, she just came up and hugged me. I had miscarried the weekend of Father's Day. And so I knew that he had seen her after he described her, and he said, "She's just waiting for you guys to come to Heaven." Okay, you saw how that little clip was so captivating? Now imagine an entire DVD that's going to set your world on fire. I am serious, you're going to watch this; you will not be able to turn away. In fact, what you will want to do is pick up the phone and tell everybody you know about the saving grace, the loving power of Jesus Christ. So, this is our gift to you when you call to become a 700 Club partner. So we need you to pick up the phone. But we've done something a little bit different this time and that is this. Rather than just give you one DVD, were actually going to give you more so you can bless your neighbors and family and friends, different people you've been praying for. So three DVDs we're going to give you when you become a 700 Club Gold partner. Rather than $20 a month, it's just $40 a month. But you may say, I got a couple more people. We've got you covered. For Thousand Club member that's $84 a month. We're going to give you five copies. What that means is that you take one, you give four away to those people you've been praying for. Or you know, you might as well give all five away. You can do that, too, watch it and give it away. We won't tell them it's a re-gift gift. You know what I mean? Anyway, call him right now. The number is 1-800-759-0700. It is Friday. I don't know about you, but I am excited. So let's tip this weekend off with a huge bang. We've got $200,000 left on this challenge. We need you to call. We've got 26 minutes left on the challenge. And check this out, if you call right now your dollar is doubled and we give you this. Terry. Thanks Kristi. Well in America most parents warn their kids about picking up trash on the street. But for one little girl in Guatemala picking up trash was a way of life, and the city dump was her home. Her name is Maribel. But everyone here knows her as Kitty. She's had to endure living and working on this garbage dump for as long as she can remember. Each night after the trash is dumped here, the little girl scurry to pick up as many plastic bottles as she can for her grandma to recycle. Sometimes she also finds a scrap of food or a discarded toy to play with. I don't like to live here. When my tummy hurts, I pick up food at the dump and eat it. This is Kitty's grandmother. She told us how Kitty came to live with her. Kitty's dad is in prison, and her mother abandoned her. That's why she lives with me. It is pretty hopeless for us. Then we saw where Kitty and her grandmother live, right here in the middle of the dumpsite. Grandma is especially concerned about the rats. I am afraid that the rats bite Kitty or one of the other kids who live here. So CBN decided to help Kitty and her grandmother. First, we built them a new house far from the sights and smells and the rats on the dump. It was an exciting day when Kitty and her grandma got to move in. It's so good to have this new house. Next, because CBN moved them far from the dump, we knew that Grandma now had no way to make money to support them. So we set up a small clothing business for her right in the marketplace near the new home. Already, Grandma's income is better than she ever made working at the dump. I'm making good money with my new business. Then we were able to help Kitty to attend this school run by Christians. Here she receives a good education and hot, nutritious meals during the day, thanks in part to a new kitchen provided by CBN. I like to study here. I want to be a doctor when I grow up, so I can help others. Finally, during a summer Bible outreach for all the kids at the dump, which was sponsored by CBN, Kitty prayed and asked Jesus to come and live in her heart. I'm so thankful for Kitty's school, for the house, and the new business. But mostly, I am grateful we don't live at the garbage dump anymore. Thank you, Operation Blessing. You know lots of times I think we assume that people who are living in poverty situations just accept that because they don't know anything else. Kitty knew. She said, "I don't like living at the dump." You know, you gave this family an amazing opportunity, not a handout, but a hand up, and their lives are forever changed. They are so grateful, and they've come to know the love of God because of it. That's what we're doing around the world. That's why we're asking you to join with us. So right now will you go to your phone and call 1-800-759-0700? Now here's the thing, a general 700 Club membership is 65 cents a day, $20 a month. Some of you are already 700 Club members. Why don't you consider going up to 700 Club Gold? That's $40 a month. We have Thousand Club members who join us at $84 a month; 2500 Club members come in at $209 a month. Some people join us at our Founders level; that's $417 a month. And then there are folks who can and want to give more. They joined the Chairman's Circle. That's gifts of $10,000 or more a year. Ask God what he would have you to do to make a difference in the lives of people like Kitty and her grandmother. There are people around the world crying out right now for someone to come and stand with them in their need. Jesus said that's what we're supposed to do so let's do it. Let's do it with gusto. Let's join hands together, and let's make a difference in the world. Gordon. Well, last month's tornados in Alabama killed more than 300 people and wiped out entire towns. Survivors now face the difficult task of rebuilding their lives, and they're getting some much-needed help from Operation Blessing. Charles Green watched the weather radar on his computer at work is an F4 tornado approached Birmingham, Alabama. His neighborhood lay directly in its path. I'm listening to the guy saying the storm is headed to Pratt City, Smithfield Estates area. So I immediately called my wife to tell her, get downstairs right now. I could hear glass breaking and everyone started yelling. Children were yelling, "Dad, Daddy." My wife was screaming. And when the phone went dead, man, I almost collapsed. I didn't know what happened to them. I thought they were gone. I kept saying to myself, "Jesus please, keep them safe." It took just 35 seconds for the tornado to rip through Smithfield Estates. Charles tried frantically to reach his wife. When I finally got through, and she answered the phone, I just said, "Thank you God. Thank you " I knew what he was going to be thinking, so that was the first thing out of my mouth, "We're okay, we're okay." If you look around here, and the fact that a community walked out of this neighborhood that night was God. Now that's God. We sustained a lot of damage. The roof on the back bedroom, it caved in. All the windows were blown out. A tree fell on the back of my house, and I was just sitting in my yard before that thinking, how in the world am I going to get all these trees get this stuff taken care of? And I walk around the corner and Operation Blessing is there. Volunteers came from as far as way as Canada, California, and Virginia to remove trees and cover damaged roofs. I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own, no way. Like I said, this was someone that shows they care like that. It means the world to me. The fact that people give up their time, their jobs, to come and help a community that you don't even know. You have nothing invested in except human kindness to another person. That's miraculous to me. I think God everyday for y'all being all right. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for giving, because without Operation Blessing, like I said, I don't know what we would have done. We want to be there when disasters strike. We want to strike back with love, with compassion and with very tangible help for people. We want to show them that God loves them, we love them, that there's help on the way. And you can be a part of it. A portion of every gift to the 700 Club goes into the work of Operation Blessing to bring very needed help. And if you want to be a part of that all you have to do is call us, 1-800-759-0700. What were asking you to do is join the 700 Club. It's just $20 a month, 65 cents a day. We encourage you to join via Pledge Express; that's electronic monthly giving. There's no stamps, no checks to write out. We save so much on the processing, we can send as our gift back to you Power for Life monthly teaching CDs. So if you want that, when you call and ask for Pledge Express or you can log on to CBN.com. When you give on the Internet, you automatically sign up for that. So do that now. We're in the middle of a $200,000 challenge. If we can check in with the red number, we've got 152,000 and here from Rocky Mountain, North Carolina, we're taking it down, $5000, a founder. That takes us down 147 to go with just 18 minutes and 18 seconds on the clock. So call us now, 1-800-759-0700. Wendy. Thanks Gordon. Well have you ever wondered what happens on the other side as in the other side of this life? Well meet the men and women who've been there. From glimpses of Heaven to escapes from Hell, you're about to find out what happens beyond the grave. What happens after we die? And I began to rise out of my body up into that room. I suddenly had an overwhelming sense of God's presence. An incredible journey. I saw every aspect of our life together. Who will we see? And I found myself falling through the air, and I landed in this actual prison cell. What will we see? Demons were tormenting people. They had absolutely no mercy. Hear from those who died. I was begging Him, "Don't let me go to Hell." And returned to tell their story. It started in the center of the room toward the ceiling, and I was immediately drawn to it. It was beautiful, just pure. I wanted to know this One who, when I knew without a doubt that I was going to Hell, came for me. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. A powerful tool to share your faith with others. The 700 Club's Life Beyond the Grave. Available now. It's the most important question you will ever ask yourselves or your loved ones. Where are you going to spend eternity? In Heaven in total love with God? Or in Hell in total torment forever? In Life Beyond the Grave, you will meet real people in real stories. These stories are so incredible, so real, you cannot not believe them and your loved ones will to. We believe Life Beyond the Grave is the perfect witnessing tool for you and your family and your whole neighborhood. We want you to have this, this is our free gift to you when you call right now and join the 700 Club. 1-800-759-0700 or you can log on to CBN.com. We're in the final day of our May telethon. So if you've been watching all week and you've been saying, "I would really like to hear these stories," we want you to have them. These are life changing. These will change lives for not just this life but for eternity. If you call right now and join at the 700 Club Gold level which is just $40 a month, we're going to send you three Life Beyond the Graves. Three DVDs. One for you, and two to give away. And if you say, "Well, I've got more people on my list that I've been praying for," well we've got another plan for you. The Thousand Club level, just $84 or more a month, we're going to send you five. So you can give all five away. Watch it and give it away. So give us a call right now. We're in the middle of a big challenge. That means every dollar that you pledge right now will be matched dollar for dollar. So please go to your phones right now. Gordon. well, today Tony Richardson is working his dream job. But, not long ago he was out of work, deep in debt, and about to lose his car. Tony Richardson made a decent living as an accountant working around the country. He also invested in real estate which stretched his income. I used to live in Texas. And when I lived in Texas I had the house here in Tennessee, and I was working in Arkansas. I was always just coming up short. I was having good jobs, but things weren't going well. He tried to sell the properties, but with the slump in the housing market, there were no buyers. He maxed out his credit cards and fell behind on his truck payments. The bank threatened to repossess. It is easy to go and get into situations where you just spend more than what you have. You spend more than what you are making. Tony started going to a church that taught on the importance of tithing. And I realized that I couldn't make it if I wasn't tithing. And when I tithed, the place that I was trying to sell in Texas had sold. I was able to pay my truck off. So when I tithed, it just kind of put me right back where I needed to be. Tony was able to pay off a significant amount of debt. Around the same time, the demand for his accounting services started to increase. Within two years, Tony's income jumped from $30,000 to six figures. It was an exciting feeling to be able to tithe and give back to God and be blessed. God just prospered me. He prospered me physically. He prospered me financially. He prospered me materially. It was just the whole person. So when Tony landed a lucrative consulting job with a large corporation, he decided to give more to God. He called the 700 Club and made a pledge. That same day, the company asked him to falsify a report. He refused. Two days later . . . . They came through and said, "We don't really need you working here anymore." Even though he was now without a job, Tony wanted to honor the pledge he had just made to CBN. It was a good time to just say, "Hey, I'm not going to pay it. I can't really afford to." But I knew that God had just proved Himself faithful over and over again. In just a few days, Tony got a call from a friend he hadn't talked to in 20 years. He offered him a job. Each month he works two weeks in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. The other two weeks? He takes off; he goes back home to Tennessee. People are just like, "Wow! How did that happen? What happened?" And it was just God. It was just God, because God could trust me. And when God can trust you, He will just put you in situations to where you will just be able to prosper and people will know that, man, it could only be God. When God can trust you, He'll put you in the right situation. He'll place you in areas where you can do good. Here it is. It's the promise from Psalm 37 . . . . . . . . "Trust in the Lord, and do good." That's what Tony did. He trusted in God. He did good. When someone asked him to do something that was wrong, he said, "No, I'm going to do good." And then he dwelt in the land, and he fed on God's faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Now here's Tony and he's doing the right thing and he's tithing. And someone asked him to do something wrong, and he says, "No, I can't do that." And then he gets fired. And now he's out of work and now what do you do? Well, he says, "Well, I'm going to continue to do good. I'm going to do what God asked me to do. God is going to be faithful, I just have to wait." So he continued to do good, and then someone calls him out of the blue and gives him the desires of his heart, gives him a dream job. Now, what about you? What about you? Are you doing good? Are you doing what God Asked you to do? Are you tithing? Are you part of God's plan? When you understand these principles and understand how they work then you say, "There's no way I'm going to stop doing that." If you want to get on the plus side of giving call us, 1-800-759-0700. We're asking you to join the 700 Club. It's just $20 a month, 65 cents a day. Some of you say, "I can join at a higher level," 700 Club Gold; that's $40 a month. When you join at that level we'll send you three copies, three, not just one, but three copies of Life Beyond the Grave. If you've got questions: is there life after death? Is there a Heaven? Is there a Hell? This DVD will answer it for you. And we'll give you not just one but three copies for 700 Club Gold, so you can share with friends and family. And if you've got questions, if they've got questions. We had a report from one of our viewers that "My daughter, 16 years old, just came to me and said, ‘I want to let you know I'm an atheist now.'" And she's saying, "What do I do?" Well one of the things you could do a show her this DVD. And show her there are consequences. There is life after death. There are destinations for us. There is a Heaven, and that's wonderful news. When you have the security of Jesus, you have all the wonderful news. You have all the great news you need. There's also a Hell. There are consequences. We want to get this out. We want to have everybody have it. If you want it, call us right now, 1-800-759-0700. Just say yes, I want to join. I want to join the 700 Club. I want to join 700 Club Gold. We're in the middle of a challenge, $200,000. Nine minutes and 50 seconds to go. So please call us now, 1-800-759-0700. Terry. Well, Chinese laws prevent many families from having more than one child. So children born with defects are often unwanted and sometimes even abandoned and left to die. For 20 years Mr. and Mrs. Wen wanted to have a baby. They tried everything that their doctor suggested, but were never able to conceive. I was so sad especially when I saw other parents with their children. But my husband and I prayed about it for a long time and decided that maybe God had a different plan for us. Then one day Mr. Wen heard crying coming from a box on the side of the road. As he got closer he could see that someone had abandoned a baby. When he looked inside the box, he knew why. The baby girl had a cleft lip. Mr. Wen took her home and named her Jia Lin which means "beautiful Jade." The Wens wondered if this was God's answer to their prayers. I fell in love with Jia Lin the minute I saw her. And I knew that if my wife and I did not take care of her, she would die. We did not have any idea what to do about Jia Lin's cleft lip, but we were going to try our best to save her. The Wen's found out that the surgery their daughter needed would cost $1300. Mr. Wen works in construction and only makes $150 a month. So the couple wasn't sure how they could ever pay for surgery. Then a neighbor told them that CBN had helped his son who had also been born with a cleft lip. I did not know whether or not CBN would be able to help us to, but I just prayed that God would have compassion on us. Then I called CBN. CBN arranged free cleft lip surgery for Jia Lin that completely transformed her face and her future. Today she is perfectly healthy and can eat, smile, and laugh just like other baby girls. We thank God for hearing our prayers and sending CBN to help our little Jia Lin. I never thought that there could be someone that really cared about what we were going through. But you did, you showed us God's great love. Thank you for saving Jia Lin. Now she will have a beautiful life. Jia Lin's father said, "I prayed to God before calling and asked Him to have compassion on us." And God did have compassion on them. How did that happen? He used people like you, like me. He used 700 Club members to make that possible. Become a part of that answer to someone's need to their prayer. Become a part of the outreached arm of God to the world. You can do that right now by going to your phone and calling that toll free number, 1-800-759-0700. Join the 700 Club, all kinds of club levels to join at. You get this amazing DVD, Life Beyond the Grave, when you join the 700 Club. Go to 700 Club Gold, you get three of these so you can get to away to friends. And the 700 Club Thousand Club membership, you get five. So call right now and when you do, will you use Pledge Express. It's electronic monthly giving. That means your bank does all the work. You don't have any of the hassle. Saves us on processing costs and so were able to put even more of your gift right into the lives of people like this little family in China. So call now, say I want to use Pledge Express. Our way of saying thank you is to send you Power for Life teachings. You get one of these every month. They'll be a blessing to you, and you'll know you're blessing someone else at the same time. And by the way you can also give by logging on to CBN.com. Gordon. More than 30 percent of the people in Peru live below the poverty line. Recently we met a single mother named Erica who supported her family on a dollar a day. Ericka Quispee's hands move with lightning speed as she assembles tiny cardboard tabs and string. If she can put together 1,000 of these tiny price tags in one day, she'll earn a dollar. This job, done on her bed at home, together with other small cleaning and laundry jobs, provides Ericka with enough money to get by. But buying food wasn't her greatest need. She's been living in this broken down shack with her two children for the past year since her husband abandoned her. My house was so small. I don't have a kitchen. The bed took up half of the house. And with the little bit of money she has saved, she makes temporary repairs to her home. I had to say, "This week I'm going to buy the plastic." Sometimes I wouldn't give the children a glass of milk or get diapers, so I could afford the plastic. It was very sad not to give my sons a better place to live. One morning, Ericka was outside doing laundry when Operation Blessing came to give her some good news. Because she had one of the worst houses in the entire community, we offered to build her another one. I asked, "What? How much do I have to pay?" They just kept saying they will give me a house. A few days later, Operation Blessing arrived with building materials and volunteers; and in a single day, they were able to build this new home for Ericka and her children. It was the most exciting day of my life. That night we slept, and it was so warm, and no cold air got in. The next day it rained, and we did not get wet. No more. It is thrilling. But we knew Ericka needed something more to increase her income as a single mom; so we gave her this cart where she can cook food to sell to her neighbors right in front of her home. Tears of joy fell from her eyes as she realized what the cart would mean to her children. Thank you. You have given me something that will change my life. Then, as our day with Ericka ended, we had a chance to introduce her to the Gospel, and she prayed to become a Christian, Things will be better for me and my sons. I'm very excited. Thank you. Thank you if you're a member of the 700 Club, you're part of that. If you're not a member, we invite you to join us right now. Call the toll-free number, 1-800-759-0700. Just say yes, I want to be a part of everything you're doing. A portion of every gift to the 700 Club goes into the work of Operation Blessing. Another portion goes into the work of CBN WorldReach. We have 15 television production centers around the world. We're training local Christians and how to do Christian television. So the programs are in their own language with people who look like them, act like them and talking testimonies of what Jesus is doing for them today. If you want to be a part of it, call us right now, 1-800-759-0700. If I can get a drum roll, we've got some great news. Some partners are saying $200,000 on a challenge is not enough to do everything that's needed around the world. They want to add 150,002 to it. Take it to $350,000. Let's pray, "Lord, we ask for blessing to this. We ask that you would double it. And Lord we just know your Word is true over those who made it possible. You're going to open the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing they cannot contain. And for those watching, making decisions, just speak to them, bless them, encourage them, for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen." $350,000. We have to the end of the hour which is just 10 minutes and 46 seconds away, so we need to hear from you. Go to the phone and call us, 1-800-759-0700. When you call and join, we've got a gift for you, something I want you to have. It's Life Beyond the Grave. These are real stories. These are eyewitnesses, people who have died. One of the men in this, when he came back to life, he was in the morgue in the hospital with a doctor picking up his foot, getting ready to make an incision to drain the fluid out of his body. He was dead dead. He came back to life, and you want to hear his story, what he saw, how he experienced Jesus in Heaven, how he experienced also what it would be like to be in Hell, to be apart from God for all eternity. We want you to have this. When you join at the Thousand Club level, we want to give you more. We want to give you not just one of these; we want to give you five. See are going to get this one for you and then four more, so you can give to your neighbors. You can go north, south, east, and west with this and give it away, so people get the message and can understand yes, there is life after death. Yes, there is a Heaven. Yes there is a Hell. Yes there is a savior who is able to make sure that you're with Him for all eternity. So, if you want it, call us: 1-800-759-0700. Let's go over to Kristi. Well, Gordon you just really took all the words out of my mouth. When you call right now, we're going to give you this. It's free, Life Beyond the Grave. You know, Gordon, was talking about the man who died. In fact, he said he was dead dead. I didn't know you could be dead dead, just dead, but dead dead. But you're also going to hear more stories. One from this little boy, check this out, four years old. Cutest little kid you could possibly imagine died. He went to Heaven and he met family members he didn't even know he had. Take a look. Is there a Heaven? I was in the throne room of God to start with, so I got to see what that looked like. I was upset, because I didn't know what was happening. What God did was He used people or things that I liked to calm me down. From there on I felt better. Then one day we are traveling together, and he looks up at me and says, "Dad, you used to have a grandpa named Pop, didn't you?" And I'm like, "Yeah." "He's really nice." Really? "Yeah, you used to play with him as a kid and work with him on the farm and shoot stuff with him." I'm like, "Yeah, how do you know that?" "Well, he told me." A figure came up and he was Pop. He asked me, "Are you Todd's son?" I said, "Yes." He said that he was his grandpa. Incredible story. I don't know if you've ever heard me talk about my son. You probably have, because I talk about him all the time. But I have a seven-year-old son who sat with me and watched this entire DVD. That particular story, about that little boy who went to Heaven, my son kept saying, "Can we watch it again, can we watch it again?" He was so enthralled. This story had such an impact on him that—you know, something happened. My son gave his life to the Lord at five years old, but he kept asking me more, more, more about God and who Jesus is and Heaven, and Hell. You see, this DVD can have the same impact on you and your family, your children, your grandchildren. That's why we put this together just for you. But, here's the deal, you've got to call us; and today is an important day. We need you to call us right now at 1-800-759-0700. We've got seven minutes left on this challenge. So if you call right now, the dollar is doubled. Now, that's the good news, but I'm going to give you even greater news. You ready? Here we go, Gordon mentioned it, but I'm going to double team him and say it again. If you call right now, you get one. But if you say you want to become a 700 Club partner, $40 a month, we're going to give you three. You take one, give two away. We can do better than that. We can actually, at the Thousand Club level for $84 a month—that's nothing, but it's everything. We can give you five. Can't you think of about four or five family members or people that you've been praying for that you've had in your Bible, you know, that prayer list? We all can. We all have that family member who is always challenging us. Well, this is the answer to that prayer, Life Beyond the Grave. The impact that it had on my seven-year-old, I promise you it could have that same impact on your life and your family members' lives. But call. There's the number or CBN.com. That's the way to go. Gordon. All right, or any $350,000 challenge. If we can get the red number up, we've got 146 to go, and we're taking it down. Clinton, Iowa, a new Founder, $5000; Haysville, North Carolina, Founder, $6000 all on Pledge Express; Ponder, Texas, a credit card gift, $5000; Loves Park, Illinois, over the Internet Pledge Express, $5000; Chicago, Illinois, 2500 Club member doubling and then some, $6000. All of that gets matched and doubled. We're down to 118. We're counting down to victory. We need to hear from you, though. We've got 106 left, just five minutes and 30 seconds to go. So call us right now, 1-800-759-0700. Well, in California the unemployment rate is more than 12 percent. But one LA truck driver has no problem finding a job, and you are about to see why. Ron Asseltyne puts in long hours pouring concrete in southern California. But he doesn't mind. He's happy to be employed. But he always finds time to watch one of his favorite shows, The 700 Club. I love it. I trust it. I trust CBN's perspective and outlook. When he first found the program, however, he didn't believe in the lesson on tithing, but he eventually changed his mind. As the years went on, I was like, "No, the Lord needs that money. How are they going to fund their projects? They don't get money from the government." Ron pledge $20 a month. That was a stretch, because he had lost his job and was relying on unemployment and odd jobs to live. But he gave anyway. It wasn't long before Ron landed not one trucking job but two. I just kept getting work, work, work, work. And then I'm noticing everybody else is not working, but I am. I attribute it to the tithing. God said, "Test Me, and see if I won't open up the windows of Heaven." And Ron loves to see his money at work around the world through Operation Blessing. Yes, it brings tears to your eyes. It's a great thing. They do many great things for people. And it's a small amount of money to give every month. And Ron has been faithful to tithe each month, no matter what. My tithe is going out before my rent. You really start wanting to give that money. And for those wondering if the principle will work for them, Ron has this to say: That is what God requires. It's in the Bible. Because when you obey His Word, you get His blessings. When you obey, you get the blessing. If you want to start an adventure in giving, call us right now: 1-800-759-0700. Just say yes, I want to join the 700 Club. We've got three minutes and 33 seconds left in a $350,000 challenge. That red number is what we have left to make it. And we need to hear from you, so call us here. We're going to take it down, Clutch, Texas, 2500 Club member, doubling to Founder, $5000; Thousand Club member from Beaumont, Texas, going to Founder $5000. Five times. O'Fallon, Missouri, a 700 Club member going all the way to Founder, $5000. Grand Bank, Michigan, another 700 Club member going all the way to Founders. Look at that, awesome, thank you. Call us and join. I really want you to have this, Life Beyond the Grave, real people, real people who have died and gone to Heaven. These are eyewitness accounts. You want to get this. There is a story in here of a teenage girl, and her parents divorced, and she didn't know that she could go on. And so she picked up a gun, and she was thinking about using it, and the thing went off. It missed her heart by a quarter of an inch. It was a 38. Doctors later said, "We don't understand why it didn't explode your heart." But here she was. She had an experience you've got to see to believe. She went down to Hell, and said, "I became tormented. I became depression. I became the worst thought that I've ever had. And then a hand came down and lifted me up and showed me His love and then gently put me back in my body," and she recovered. She lived to tell the story of what God can do. You want to get this. We've got this for you. Call us, 1-800-759-0700. Say I want to join. When you join at 700 Club Gold, we give you not just one copy but, we give you three so you can share with others. And you join at the Thousand Club level, we'll give you five, so you can share with all your neighbors and share with your friends. We want you to have this see you can share it with others. Terry. Well, speaking of the story of what God can do, He can use you in a powerful way. Look at this, every year in Thailand thousands of children are abandoned by their parents. Some even sold into slavery. Well, the two-year-old in this next story might have been one of them if she hadn't been rescued by CBN's Orphan's Promise. You can probably tell by the smile on her face that two-year-old Dterie is happy to be part of her big new family. She lives here in this children's home in Thailand, sponsored by CBN's Orphan's Promise. In the two and a half years that she's been here at the children's home, little Dterie has received good food and the love of children she now calls brothers and sisters. And this is one of her house parents named Jim. He helps to guide and care for her. I believe that God brought Dterie to us. Whenever I look at her, I am reminded of the grace and love of God. Now, surrounded by her big family, two-year-old Dterie is thriving. She loves to worship and to raise her little hands in praise to the Lord. And thanks to CBN's Orphan's Promise, Dterie will have a safe place to live for as long as she needs it. Little Dterie knows that we love her and that this is her home now. I want to thank you, everyone, who has helped us. Making a difference changing lives, that's what you do. Gordon. Well, here in New Orleans, Louisiana, $12,000; Chairman's Circle. Fort Collins, Colorado, $8760; Tacoma, Washington; Washington again, Kalama, $5000; Blythe, California, $8100. We had a $350,000 challenge. We're going to count everything that's on the phones. We're still a little short. We got a red number up. Put the red number up. We've got 3000 to go. We've got 203 phones working; we're going to declare victory. Here's a word for you from second Corinthians . . . . "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ." God bless. 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. Is there life after death? And I began to rise out of my body up into that room. Are Heaven and Hell real places? I can see fields, crystal clear river, trees along both sides. What determines where I go when I die? I knew that the first person I saw was Jesus. Discover the answers to life's most important questions in the 700 Club's Life Beyond the Grave, real stories from The 700 Club. Available now.