The 700 Club - May 30, 2011

Well, welcome to The 700 Club. For today's headlines, let's go over to the CBN News Desk. Gordon, it's been one week since the massive EF5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri. As search and rescue efforts continue, residents there pause to honor those who suffered so much loss. John Jessup has the story. After a long week of grieving, cleaning up, and seeing devastation at every turn, the city of Joplin, Missouri took a break from it all. This is not just your tragedy. This is a national tragedy, and that means there will be a national response. Touring the devastation and consoling the locals, President Obama offered hope and pledged support as the city rebuilds. I can promise you your country will be there with you every single step of the way. All across town, residents packed the pews, even in places where church buildings no longer stand. The church is not the building. The church is the body of the people who are here to worship. People here have been turning to each other for help, but relying on faith for assurance that healing and peace will come. I don't know whether you could get through this without faith. I don't know whether you could get through anything without faith. That's one thing we all have to know, that we cannot give up and that God is with us all the time. John Jessup, CBN News. First Lady Michelle Obama encourages churches now to help make a difference in the lives of military families this Memorial Day. Mrs. Obama sent this video to churches over the holiday weekend. She encourages congregations to minister to military families. You could partner with an existing program or ministry that serves military families or you can use your respective voices to shine a light on the sacrifices and contributions these families are making. And she says that helping can be as simple as raking leaves or offering to baby-sit for a military family with a loved one deployed. Sarah Palin kicks off a nationwide bus tour. Many wonder if it's the beginning of a bid for the White House. Palin started the tour Sunday by riding on the back of a motorcycle during an annual Memorial Day rally in Washington, DC. The bus tour will take Palin up the east coast of New Hampshire, the first primary state. Palin says she does not know, though, if she will run just yet. Now, let's go back over to Terry. Well, coming up, a freak accident smashed one man's car and his bank account. The next thing I know, they're going to turn me in to the attorney general to force me to pay a hospital bill that's well over 200,000 dollars. You'll see how he got out of debt, right after this. Coming up later . . . . . That was the worst storm I had seen. Alone . . . . I knew then I was really in trouble. . . . . and lost at sea. I lost all electrical power on board. The engine would not start. One sailor battles the ocean . . . . Seeing waves I was convinced were 50 foot waves. . . . . in the fight of his life. I knew that I was going to die there. What makes the miracles of Jesus even more miraculous? Standing where they happened, in Israel. Come explore Jerusalem where Jesus opened blind eyes. Visit the hills of Galilee where Jesus fed the multitude. Stoll through Capernaum where Jesus lived, and taught, and healed. To learn more about standing where it all happened in Israel, visit www.goisrael.com. Come visit Israel. Today, Stuart Topp owns a thriving home repair business. But just a few years ago, he was more than 200,000 dollars in debt and about to file bankruptcy. Here's what stopped him. When Stuart Topp had a serious car accident, both his health and his finances took a hit. I was in the hospital for 21 days, had broken ribs, broken everything. When I got out of the hospital, I had no way to generate any income. Up until his accident, Stuart had been doing extremely well with his Maui-based high end renovation company. Now, he was 10,000 dollars behind with company rent payments and unsure of the future of his business. I couldn't work for many months. Then there were the unpaid bills from his accident. It got real stressful, and the next thing I know is they were going to turn me into the attorney general to force me to pay a hospital bill that was well over 200,000 dollars. Meanwhile, Stuart saw Pat Robertson on The 700 Club teaching about the value of giving. I understood the principle. I didn't know if it would work. And I watched all different things that CBN is doing worldwide and I thought, "Man, I really want to become a part of this." He took a step of faith and became a 2500 Club member. When I decided to do that, a series of things happened. The people I rent from called me up one day and said, "We're forgiving your rent." And I just went, "What?" Then an insurance carrier paid his medical bills. On top of that, the work started pouring in. All of a sudden, these jobs that I was hoping to get, I was getting, big jobs, profitable jobs. Later, Stuart married Michele, who had been a CBN partner for years. And she introduced Stuart to principles she'd learned from Pat Robertson's book, The Secret Kingdom. The law of reciprocity combined with the law of use: you don't give up; you keep going—that's the law of perseverance—took me from not knowing anything in life and not having anything in life to being very blessed spiritually and financially. Together, the Topps became CBN founders. Now even their gifts to each other reflect their desire to give to others. Her birthday, I gave her a water well. And for my birthday, she gave me a water well. I mean, what else is better than that? Stuart and Michele challenge others to test God when it comes to their finances. Anybody can make an excuse not to give. It's a choice and it's something that should be done based on faith. Don't worry about anybody else, what they think. They'll all tell you that you're wasting your money; you're wasting your time. I can tell you right now, you're not wasting either. The Lord is with me. He's with my wife. We have a wonderful life. We're doing well, and it's all because of the Lord. And if you don't tithe, you'll never understand that. It's the only time we get to test God. It's in our tithes and offerings. He actually challenges us and says, "Prove Me." Here it is from Malachi 3:10- 11, ‘"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.'" (Malachi 3:10 NKJV) We normally stop there. But it goes on, and the going on is really important. "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field." (Malachi 3:11 NKJV) Now, this is really important for us these days. It's not just that He promises to open up the windows of Heaven and pour out blessing, but He promises the things that take away, He'll rebuke that. Sometimes you watch people tithe, and their income goes up. But sometimes you watch people tithe, and there's no change in income, and they don't have any explanation other than, "Well, our expenses went down. The devourer got rebuked, the thing that started to take away from us." With that wonderful couple here, they were 200,000 dollars in debt, and it goes away. It goes away. God did that for them. What will He do for you? Just start thinking about, "What can God do for me?" Well, He can do a lot. And all He's saying is, "Prove Me. Test Me." Try this, and see if it will work for others. What He has done for others, He will do for you. So today, this week, this month, say, "I'm going to start tithing. I'm going to start giving. I'm going to see what God can do. I'm going to prove Him now in this." Terry. A few years ago, the two children in this next story lost everything: their parents, their home, and their friends. In fact, they weren't even welcome on the streets of their own city until they found a home with CBN's Orphan's Promise. Shintoo and his sister Rekha lived on the outskirts of Delhi, India. Even though they were healthy, most people didn't go anywhere near them, because their parents are lepers. People outside would say, "Don't go to their house, or you'll become like them." Our father would work in the field and drive a rickshaw. But after he lost some of his fingers and toes, it was hard for him to walk. I used to think, "My father puts himself through so much pain in order to take care of us." When there was barely enough food to eat, their parents had no other choice but to take them to a children's home sponsored by Orphan's Promise. It was the last time the children would ever see them. But it was the first time Shintoo and Rekha felt accepted by others. When we came here, we were given everything. We got beds and a nice house with electricity. I liked having something to eat. I like pizza and fish. And they were finally able to get a good education. I like riding on the school bus. Now, nobody teases us. And they soon learned about Jesus Christ. They told me Jesus is the one true God who died and rose on the third day. I started believing in God, and He showed me how to be a good boy. One day, as I was walking towards the church altar, I heard Jesus say to me, "My child, don't cry." That's when I started to believe in Jesus. Now Shintoo and Rekha want to use what they've learned to help others. When I grow up, I want to become a preacher and teach others to share, because when someone doesn't have anything, people need to help. I love Jesus very much. I'm not hungry anymore. I get everything I need and everybody shows me love. I want to thank Orphan's Promise. They took good care of us and helped us when we didn't have anything. If you're an untouchable in India, the option of dreaming about your future doesn't exist. In the lives of these children, they now have food on the table every day, and education being provided for them, and hope for their future. It's a whole new life. It's fascinating to me to see how amazingly these children grasp hold of the love of God. They've never known anything like that. Those comments are not things that have been programmed into them. They come from their hearts. They see that God loves them and that He has a plan and a purpose for their lives. You're helping us do that if you're a member of The 700 Club, because Orphan's Promise is a part of CBN WorldReach, and we're reaching out to orphans and vulnerable children around the world with that incredibly freeing message. God loves you. He wants a relationship with you, and He has a plan and purpose for your life. Help us take that message to the lost children of the world, those who have no voice. Join The 700 Club today. Its 65 cents a day, 20 dollars a month. But it makes you a world changer. You do it by going to your phone and calling that toll-free number that's on your screen. It's 1-800-759-0700. When you call, will you say, "I'd like to join The 700 Club, and I'd like to do it through Pledge Express." That's electronic monthly giving. It means your bank does all the work, but it saves a lot of administrative costs on our end, so much so that we're able to say thank you for doing that by sending you "Power for Life" teachings each month. These are corporate teachings that we have here from Pat and Gordon, and we'd love to share them with you on a regular basis, so call now: 1-800-759-0700. You can also join us by logging on to CBN.com. Gordon. Well, up next, a desperate man calls home. "Mom," I said, "I'm in Savannah. And I'm not really asking for any money, but," I said, "Mom, I'm hungry, and I haven't eaten in days. And I just ask you, could you bring me a sandwich or something?" Click. And Mom hung up the phone. Find out who he calls on next, right after this. I became a slave to it. It got really, really addictive for me. I said, "God, you have to deliver me out of this." A young woman of God laid her hands on me, and I got instantly delivered. I didn't have any more feeling to smoke, to use crack cocaine. I didn't want any of that any more. And if He can change me, He can change anyone. If you have diabetes and you're on Medicare, call now for a new pain-free meter. These new meters are more accurate. They're easier to use. And the best news is you don't have to prick your fingers anymore. Call now and Arriva Medical will send you one of these new meters for free. And, if you have Medicare, your testing supplies may also be covered. Arriva makes it simple. They bill Medicare directly. There are no upfront costs. And they deliver your supplies right to your door for free. With these new meters, there's no coding, you don't have to prick your fingers, and some of these meters even talk. Your blood glucose reading is 122. Call 1-800-284-4105 and we'll send you a free Betty Crocker Diabetes Cookbook filled with delicious recipes. 1-800-284-4105. Call Arriva today. You'll be glad you did. As a small business owner, Michael Moore worked around the clock. That way of life cost him his family. Later, Michael discovered crack cocaine, and that addiction cost him everything else. When your father tells you that you'll never amount to anything, you begin to believe it. I was never quite enough to measure up, and I never quite knew how to please Dad, to make him proud of who I was and just really see him enjoy life a little bit. I kind of felt a responsibility for his anger, like perhaps it was some of my own actions or something that I was doing wrong. In his teens Michael Moore escaped his feelings of inadequacy with marijuana and alcohol. It gave me a sort of momentary sense of euphoria, like nothing else really mattered as long as I was numb to my environment. In high school his drug use got worse, and so did his relationship with his dad. When Michael was caught stealing a purse from a car, his father snapped. Just started beating me, and kicking me around, and really just bashing me with his words, telling me I'd never amount to anything. It was a pretty traumatizing experience. I really kind of felt like whatever chance Dad and I had of bonding was probably broke from that incident. It hurt. It really hurt. From that point on, alcohol was almost an everyday, if not every other day, thing. He graduated from high school and landed a lucrative job as a surveyor. Everything looked pretty good from the outside. I had most of the things that a young man would desire, but inside, man, I was just a wreck. I was in complete turmoil. The more things I purchased and the more I tried to satisfy myself, the deeper the desire was to just intoxicate myself, self-medicate. In his 20s, Michael married and started a family. He owned a successful surveying company, but the pressures that came with it were unmanageable. I didn't know how to process emotions. Drugs and alcohol became my only way to step away from that career, that job, that was literally consuming me. And I was working 18 hours a day most of the time. I was just striving for the money, and I was going for the gusto. But I wasn't showing my kids and my family the love that they needed. The final blow came when his wife had an affair and then divorced him. He was left all alone in their large house. When his mother invited him to church, Michael accepted just to escape the loneliness he lived with every day. Every word that he spoke was a picture of my life. And literally, it broke me down. It broke me down into tears. And so when the altar call came for salvation, I was right there. So I came up and received prayer, but I wasn't ready to surrender. I was still striving to just accomplish things on my own, in my own power. Up until that point my whole life had been "me, me, me, and look at all of my accomplishments." Michael threw himself into building the life he strived so many years for. He found a new way to keep him going. Cocaine was the fuel that allowed me to stay up and work all night. There was literally a couple years of that cocaine use, living like that, and just killing myself literally that I got introduced to crack. That's when things went straight down hill to the point where that's all I cared about. That's all I thought about. The high from crack cocaine literally lasts just a few seconds. We give all that. We just surrender all that for just that few seconds of euphoria and then it's gone. And then it's just working, manipulating, lying, cheating, stealing, whatever it takes to get that next few seconds. It's really just an awful lifestyle. It's horrible. He lost everything he owned and became homeless. I'd work a position for a couple of weeks, just long enough to get a paycheck. And as soon as I got that paycheck, then I'd be off on another tangent. I'd buy as much crack as I could with that amount of money, leave myself enough money for a room and then literally lock myself in a hotel room for seven days at a time, smoking crack around the clock until I had spent every single last dollar. Then I'd be back on the street again. For years Michael lived in crack houses, homeless shelters and motel rooms. One night he was tired and hungry and called his mom for help. Mom had been so used to me calling and begging for money. But I said, "Mom," I said, "I'm in Savannah. And I'm not really asking for any money, but," I said, "Mom, I'm hungry. And I haven't eaten in days. And I just ask you, could you bring me a sandwich or something?" Click. And Mom hung up the phone. It was right then that I realized, man, I am a wreck. I need some help. Man, there is no way that I can do this on my own. I cannot pull myself out of this. I need help. While lying on the floor at a homeless shelter, Michael opened a Bible and his eyes landed on a verse that changed his life. I needed God at that point, and I knew that I needed Him. When I came to Proverbs 3:5-6, God said to me this, He said, "If you'll trust Me with all your heart, and not depend on your own understanding and seek My will in all you do, I will direct your paths." And for the first time in my life, God had spoke to me. The Bible became alive. God was realer to me at that moment than anything. And He said, "I will direct your paths." And my life had been a series of dead end roads at that point. Man, I needed that. I needed someone to direct my paths, and He just said simply, "Trust Me." Michael gave his life to Jesus Christ. He joined an eight-month recovery and discipleship program with Savannah Mission Bible Training Center. That's where I was able to just get into the Word of God and just find out who He is, how He thinks about me, what He expects of us, and just literally realized that He is a loving God, and He's full of grace. Just having that relationship with our Father and knowing that He's pleased with you despite your actions, that He's proud of you regardless of what your past looks like. Michael was set free from his addiction to crack. He reconciled with his father and shared with him the love of God that has given him peace. I had what I needed. What I had been created for and searching for my whole life now was with me. And I found that comfort that I had always been searching for in that personal relationship with God. And you can try and try and try to clean up your act on your own, and you can do everything you can on your own power. But the only way you're going to overcome in this world is by accepting Jesus and receiving that love that He has for you. Michael's mother did a great favor to him that day by not being there for him, by not picking him up one more time, because it caused him to come to the end of himself. It caused him to come to the place where he said, "I can't do this anymore. There's no way I can get out of this on my own." Do you know that's where we all are? You might not be a crack addict, but there is no way that we can get out of the mess of our own lives by ourselves. The mess of the choices that we've made, the mess of the way that we think of our heart attitude about things, the mess of wrong choices that we're very, very aware of. Maybe you are an addict. Maybe it's not to crack. Maybe it's to something else. The point is, we can't get out of it on our own. We can't get out of it on our own. And it's a good place to be. To come to the end of yourself is to come to the beginning of life in Jesus Christ. You see, when we talk about a surrendered life, that's what we mean. Michael talked about the fact that there was a point in his life where he accepted Jesus as his Savior, but he wasn't ready to surrender his life to Him as Lord. Maybe that's you today. Maybe you have a lot of head knowledge. Maybe you've even gone forward to the altar at church, committed your life to Jesus, and then walked away and tried to live it on your own. It didn't work, did it? Today, come to the end of yourself. Understand that there is only one who saves us. There is only one who fills us with the kind of power that we need to be changed, to be a new creation in Christ, to live differently, to live His way, not our way. It's different than our way. His ways are higher than our ways. He doesn't think or operate the same way that we do. But He's willing to show us what His way is, if and when we come to the end of ourselves. Would you like to know how to live in Him and for Him? Would you like the kind of power in your life that lets you have a new beginning, that lets you see things differently, that lets you start over? You can have that today. Pray with me. Just stop what you're doing for a moment and pray with me. "Oh, God. Oh, God, I want a new beginning. I want to know you that way. I want my past to be my past, and I want my future to be new and with you and in you. I want you to change the way that I think. And I need forgiveness for the things that I've done in the past that I have known have been against you, that I know are wrong. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Please empower me. Change me. Teach me your ways. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, so that I can live a new life, so that I can live in you and with you, and even for you, God. Thank you for waiting for me. Thank you. Thank you for making a way for me to get to you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen." If you've prayed that prayer, you have a new beginning. So now walk in it. Get into the Word of God. Hear what He has to say to you. Get yourself a Bible if you don't have one and start in the New Testament with the book of John. Read God's promises for you. And then get into a church where they are into the Word of God, where they're accountable to one another, where someone can help you to grow in your relationship. We've got a little packet we'd love to send you that will help you. It's called "A New Day," and it's absolutely free. You can get this by calling that toll free number: 1-800-759-0700. Just ask for the "New Day" packet. It's filled with information from the Word of God. And we've put it together just for you. So call now. You can also log on to CBN.com. Gordon. Well, coming up, he's one of the most popular chefs in the world. And today, Rick Tramonto is bringing his culinary skills to The 700 Club. So don't go away. You know, ever since the Rogers got that Sunsetter Awning, they've been unbearable. Why? Just cause they're always outside having fun on their patio even on the hottest days? Now you can make the smart move, too, by finding out all about Sunsetter retractable awnings. A Sunsetter will turn you patio or deck into a an outdoor oasis. You mean you and I could be sitting outside instead of stuck in here with the air-conditioning running and all the blinds closed? Just call for a free information kit, and you'll also receive a $200 savings certificate. Well, look at them. They're having such a great time. A Sunsetter awning adds value to your house and lets you have so much fun outside. Call now to get your $200 savings certificate. Did you call? I called. Call this number now to receive your free information kit, DVD, and $200 savings certificate. 1-800-668-6694, 1-800-668-6694. 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. Call 1-800-590-7491. Welcome back to The 700 Club. Married couples are no longer in the majority. 2010 Census numbers show married couples make up only 48 percent of all US households. It marks the first time in US history that married couples are not in the majority. Experts point to a fast growing older population that's more likely to be divorced and younger people who now put off marriage until later in life. The Spanish language version of The 700 Club is now breaking into the Hispanic market here in the US. Starting in June, Club 700 Hoy will be broadcast daily on Enlace. It's the only national Hispanic Christian network here in the US. The station can be seen on Direct TV in more than 500 cable and TV stations across the country. In 2010, the US Census counted well over 50 million Hispanics, making up over 16 percent of our total population. You can find out more about CBN WorldReach by going to CBN.com/WorldReach. Gordon and Terry will be back with more of The 700 Club, after this. more of The 700 Club. Dear Bowflex, I dropped 8 dress sizes, 36 pounds, and all I have to do was walk. This is the Bowflex Treadclimber machine, the easiest way to walk and burn up to twice the calories in less time. By combining the motion of a treadmill, a stepper, and an elliptical, you get the calorie-burning benefits of all three workouts at once. I lost 30 pounds in four months. If I could do it, anyone can do it. Call now for your free DVD and information kit. You'll see how the Treadclimber burns up to twice the calories of a treadmill. Plus you'll learn how you can own a Treadclimber machine today with special financing for 18 months. Within the first couple of weeks, I started to lose inches. I lost 50 pounds in three months using the Treadclimber. Call or go online to buytc.com for your free info kit. We'll also send you the Bowflex Insiders Guide with the personal fitness assessment, to help you jumpstart your Bowflex body today, absolutely free. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Bowflex. Sincerely, J.D. Weber. Well, Rick Tramonto has worked with some of the best chefs in the world and has started some of the greatest restaurants in the country. Not bad for a guy who got his start flipping burgers at a fast food joint. Rick, it's a great honor to have you here. Thank you for having me. This is wonderful! A wonderful testimony! A beautiful day. A beautiful day! A little hot standing next to a grill. That's all right. We'll get into it. But grilling seems to be this American tradition. Right. We like I guess our burnt sacrifices. It's like a family tradition. You get together. It's all about friends and family. That's right. Why do we want to do it? Why do we want to do it outside? It's about the kumbayah. I like to bring my family around the table. I have three boys that are teenage boys that devour food. So in Chicago it's always snowing. . . . . with the teenage boys. That's right. And it's always snowing in Chicago. So we're the guys that have the grills backed up by the back door in our parkas with the hat on in the blizzard in January and February. You guys probably don't experience that too much here. So we grill all season. Really? We're just not the summer warriors. We grill all season long. So we love to grill. It's really simple. I'd love to show you a bunch of stuff. But the spirit of the book was really about bringing family together. But who would be a friend of steak? Steak and Friends. Well, we're friends of steak. But baked potato would be a friend of steak. Mushrooms would be a friend of steak. Olive oil would be a friend of steak. So it kind of had some double entendre. It had some fun with it. Rick is talking about his new book. It's called Steak and Friends. And it's not just about the friends that you invite over and you want to bring in to your barbecue, but it's also what really goes with it and how to do it, how to cook it, how to pick it. That's right. And how to marinate it. Some people say no marinade. Some people say you've got to marinade. Yes. You're going to talk about a specific cut of meat today. I am. I'm going to talk about a hanger steak today. Where do you get a hanger steak? Is this something you've got to go to the airport to get? No. No, not at all. The skirt steaks, the hanger steaks. They used to call them the butcher's cut back in the day, because those are the cuts that . . . . The butcher would keep them private. That's right. A lot of flavor. He'd say, "This is for my family." Inexpensive. All about it. I'm all about the filets and the tenderloins, but lately . . . . I've never seen one in a grocery store. Really? I've been to the meat section a lot. You've seen a skirt steak. I've seen a skirt steak. Okay. I've seen London broil. So the hanger, if you look at a cow belly, it's right next to that. It's right on that piece. And what we're going to show you—can we go into it? Sure. What we're going to show you is we're going to show you a lot of times they'll come like this. But a lot of times you'll see them already butterflied. You'll see the skirts like this. You'll see the hangers like this. And there's this big piece of sinew right through the middle, and you've got to get rid of that. We're going to take that right out. Because you can't eat that. You can't digest it. And you can't even grill it out. But you know what I'm going to tell you is . . . . And you'll be mad at Rick if you try to eat it. You've got to have a relationship with your butcher. You have to be able to say, "Look, I'm Rick. I shop here every week. I'm Gordon. I shop here every week. I want to know you, Joey, Billy, Bobby, Susie, and I want you to tell me what's good, what's fresh." I'm a big seasonal guy. I love to go to farmer's markets. I love to talk to my vendors, my fishmongers. So whatever it is, I think you've got to have a relationship with who you're buying the product from, whether it's a farmer or whether it's a grocery guy. How do you start that? You introduce yourself. Because, for most people, you go to the supermarket, you go to that case, everything is wrapped in plastic and looking pristine. That's right. But there's always a counter. And you never see the person. There's a counter with a guy behind it. No, most times there's always a counter with a guy behind it. And you walk right up, and you shake their hand, and you introduce yourself. Or you ask for somebody. "Is the butcher here? Is somebody here that I can talk to about ordering meat or talking about what's fresh and what's seasonal?" And the key here is if you do this, if you take this step to get the relationship, you're now going to be getting the good stuff. It's kind of like God. You know, He gets that relationship, and you get the good stuff. We're going to get you dressed up. All right, I'm getting the good stuff. We're going to get you a towel. We're going to get you a set of tongs. What we've done here is we've taken this hanger . . . . I'm now Rick's apprentice. That's right. That's good. And we've marinated it in some balsamic, some garlic, a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. How important is the marinade? The marinade is everything. You're going to infuse flavor in there. I like to use some kind of acid, whether it's balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar, lemon, orange, because that does . . . . Aren't you afraid the vinegar is going to cook it? No, that's going to break down some of that sinew that we're talking about. That's going to make this like butter. It's going to just make it just yum. I like it like butter. Yes, yes. You know what; we're going to throw these right on. We're going to get these going. Ooh, get a little flare up. Yes. We like that. Fire is your friend, as they say. Here's my other thing. Are you a charcoal guy or a gas guy? I'm both, because I grill all season long. I'm also a practical guy. I like to keep it real. I'm not going to go build a charcoal fire in January when I'm watching the Super Bowl. It's not going to happen. I want to turn on my gas and make it right there. You know what I mean? So I like both. The other things is I don't like to keep . . . . You can actually do a combo, can't you? That's right. That's right. Is that what this is? No, this is all gas. This is all gas? All right. We don't want to keep flipping stuff either. We like to leave it and . . . . So you're not supposed to sit here and mess with it and move it around? No, no, let it cook. Let it get caramely. You're going to let it cook and get a crust. Let it keep going. And that way it doesn't tear when you try to pull it off. Absolutely. And while that's going, I have some Broccoli Rappini or Broccoli Rabe some people call it, that I blanched in salt water. Where do you get that? I've never seen that in a grocery store. Oh, come on. Any grocery store? Dominick's, Jewel, Whole Foods. I don't know what you have around here. Maybe in Chicago you can get it, but around here, I've never seen it. I've seen it in a restaurant, but I've never seen it in a grocery store. No. You blanche it in salt water. I grew up in an Italian family. We had it all the time. Where does it grow? It grows all over. It grows in the Midwest. It grows in the south. It's beautiful. Just blanche, salt water, chili flake, garlic, olive oil. Blanched, we're going to throw it on the grill, and we're going to get a little smoke going on here. We're going to throw all this on. That's beautiful. Any kind of greens I love to grill, whether you're grilling Rappini, whether you're grilling broccoli, I love all that. Now, a lot of people think the grill is just for meat. What happens to a vegetable when you grill it? Oh, great flavor, great smoke, great smokiness. It just really brings it out. Do you get that char flavor working with it? Yes. And we grilled up some zucchinis during the break. Everybody loves that. Throw a little olive oil on there; marinate it in a little salt and pepper. Look at that. That's beautiful, huh? All right, on the steak, how long do you cook it? What are you trying to do? If you're going to do medium, medium rare, I like to go three or four minutes per side. But if you need to take a peek, because you're not sure, take a peek. Look at that. It's hot, grilled, nice and oiled, beautiful marinade. It's not going to stick. And you're all good. You're only going to turn it one time. Beautiful. Look at that. That one stuck a little bit, because it was in between. All right. So what I have over here is I have some that are cooked and that I've rested, because that's the other secret. The other secret for me . . . . The secret is resting. . . . is resting. How do you tell when it's done? Give me your hand. Put your hand out. Here's my big secret. Take your other hand. If you go right here, you feel that? That's medium rare. If you go in towards the center of your palm, that's medium, medium well, well done right there. By the knuckle? Well done. Throw it away? It's too tough to eat. Good for the dog, not for you? I like mine medium, medium rare. We're going to go right back over to here. We're going to take these right off. So that was really quick. About three minutes on each side. That was three minutes and . . . . That's a fire hot grill. We're going to let those rest for another four or five. We're going to also, Gordon, I'm going to have you take those Rappini. I'm going to have you just throw them right over in that tray there. So you don't turn them. You just cook them on one side. Yes. And then just turn them as you go in. Turn them as we go in. All right. Yes. There you go. Beautiful. Oh, we're getting some char on these. Nice. This is nice. Now, remember, they're already cooked. We're just heating them up, and we're just getting some smoke and some char out of them. All right. Nice. So we're going to take those, put those right over here. Here are the steaks that we had rested. Yes. Now, before you cut, how long have they been resting? They've been resting about four to five minutes. And all that juice is going right back in, so when you slice it, they're just going to be succulent and juicy, and it's not going to just go all over your board. And so one of the best things to do to preserve the flavor is as soon as it comes off the grill, you put it off and you just let it sit. Just let it sit while you're making your salad, while you're making something else. The other things we're going to do is we're going to flip our board over, because we're going to cut on the surface, the clean surface versus a raw surface. So I'm just going to take these, and we're just going to slice them. Nice. Now, these are medium, medium well. Yes. I'm going to grab some medium rare for us, because I know you're a medium rare guy. I'm a medium rare kind of guy. I know you are. I know you are. It sort of looks like fajita meat. It's beautiful. Wait until you taste it. It's gorgeous. All right. So I'm going to make you a plate right here. We've got forks. We've got plates. I have a beautiful burrata salad here too that I did with roasted beets and a little bit of fresh mozzarella cheese. Your recipe says burrata, and that's a special cheese. That's a fresh . . . . It's a fresh mozzarella. Cow's milk cheese. That's right. I also have a little wild mushroom sauce here that we have, which you can use creminis. You can use shiitakes. I'm going to give you the whole lot here, Gordon. I'm getting a full plate here. I'm going to hook you right up. I hope you guys at home are hungry, because this is really making me hungry. I'm getting the full dish here. There you go, my friend. All right. You've got to make one, too. I don't believe in eating alone. At the end, its summer, we have beautiful berries, blueberries, strawberries. I have this little easy strawberry shortcake that we did with some fresh whipped cream and some mint, which is beautiful. Nice. I'm just going to dig right in. All right, now what goes into that beet salad? Well, we have roasted beets. So you've roasted the beets in the oven or on the grill? I roasted them in the oven. Oven. And I put them in foil with olive oil, salt, pepper. And I roast them on salt. I put them on a bed of salt. And as I put them in the oven, all the moisture from the beets is able to absorb in the salt. They don't burn on the bottom when you roast them at about 400. Some walnuts, some sherry vinegar, and some fresh olive oil, and salt and pepper. And beets are one of my favorite, favorite things. I'm getting these steak knives, because the proof is always in the taste. That's right. When you cook at home, are you somebody that spends the time and does the marinating and does all that? Oh, wow. I mean, you're somebody that really enjoys that, correct? For me, the technique is everything. And every step has meaning. And the more you understand the steps and what it's trying to do—the marinade is trying to break down the tough fibers to make an inexpensive cut tender—and how important those steps are. And it wasn't really until I got into French cooking that I understood it, and I understood the meaning of technique and how important even the simple things of making sure your eggs are at room temperature, how that influences the final dish. Absolutely. And it's just understanding the process, that for every one of these steps, there is meaning. Absolutely. All right. You go through that. I've read your books, and you go through that. And you really explain from how to pick the right cut at the butcher all the way through cooking . . . . Room temperature. I love room temperature stuff. . . . . and how to cook it and how to make sure you're going to get the best possible flavor for your family. We've got a strawberry shortcake. We've got to get to that. We do. Are you ready to dig into that? It's very interesting . . . . That's been calling to me. Here you go. I'm going to let you call to that. Take your fork. That steak is wonderful. Thank you. All right, this is just a simple shortcake? Just a simple shortcake recipe. And the berries are very interchangeable. It's strawberry season, use strawberries. It's blueberry season, use blueberries. They're wrapping me. I'm going to continue eating. For more great recipes, check out Rick Tramonto's cookbook called Steak with Friends. It's available nationwide. You can also log on to CBN.com. Every recipe you saw here today, you can get. Up next . . . . . . . . one sailor runs into the perfect storm. I'm looking up, and I have to tell you, I had never seen conditions like this in my entire life. There's a certain horrible beauty to all this. It was beautiful, but it was killing me. How he made it out of the ocean alive, next. Hi, I'm Howard Dvorkin, the founder of Consolidated Credit. For almost two decades, Consolidated Credit has helped millions of Americans just like you. We can consolidate and reduce your monthly payments by up to 50 percent, save you thousands in interest and fees, and help you get out of debt fast. We've helped over five million people. Let us help you. Call Consolidated Credit now: 1-800-441-1202, 1-800-441-1202. Hi, I'm Dr. Joyce Brothers. Those of us who are independent and live alone shouldn't do so without having emergency protection. And for reliability and peace of mind, I recommend Alert USA. With Alert USA, if you ever need assistance, just press your pendant to be connected to an operator who can summon help to your home 24 hours a day. I've been giving advice for many years, and I believe Alert USA provides the best emergency support and value for your dollar. Call now for a free brochure. For four long days, Dennis Clements was at the mercy of the high seas. The waves tossed his boat up and down, back and forth. But on the fourth day, his ship sank. And Dennis was left bobbing alone in the frigid waters, armed with just a dim flashlight and the prayers of his family, hundreds of miles away. Dennis Clements was ready for an adventure. He has always been an adventurer, wanderlust big time. That's where his heart is, really, is the adventure. And the more rugged, the better. I wanted a change in my life. I was ready, especially since the death of my mother. I felt kind of numb. I felt like getting away might be good. It might allow me to find time for refreshing. Dennis prepared his 32 foot sailboat in Virginia and set sail for the Bahamas. Two days into his trip, the weather changed. Dennis sailed into a massive storm. Conditions had become quite treacherous. That was the worst storm I had seen. I had seen other storms. The problem with this one was that the wind built and then shifted. Rogue waves struck with incredible force, breaking a hole in the side of the sailboat. I was thrown across the cabin, landing on my right shoulder, which I thought I had broke at that time, and I was deluged when the water came pouring in, flooding the boat. I lost all electrical power on board. The engine would not start. The steering autopilot had failed. It locked up the steering. I was unable to control the boat. To see that hole in the side of the boat and to know that the storm was continuing to build and the conditions were getting worse, it left me totally vulnerable to anything. And I knew then I was really in trouble. Dennis battled the elements for four days. It's getting dark, and I'm looking up, and I have to tell you, I had never seen conditions like this in my entire life. I remember looking up as the boat rolled over in these seas and seeing waves that I was convinced were 50-foot waves. And there's a certain horrible beauty to all this. It was beautiful, but it was killing me. And I looked over and the beacon was on. The light was blinking. And I had not turned it on. And to the best of my knowledge, it was not a self-activating EPERM. It was a manual deployment. And so I looked at that, and I almost turned it off. And it's like I hear a voice in the back of my mind that says, "You didn't turn that on. Don't turn it off." I did not want to give up, but I started to realize that I wasn't going to make it. The coast guard picked up the distress signal and dispatched a C130 plane over his location. They also called Dennis's wife, Mary. They basically said, "Yes, we received a distress signal." They said, "We know he's off of the coast of North Carolina. If he has a distress signal, if Dennis Clements has a distress signal, this is serious." Friends, family, and local churches began praying for Dennis's safety. Yet, for the moment, his situation only got worse. The pilot of the C130 told Dennis they would not be able to get a helicopter to his location for several hours. I got on the radio and I told them, I said, "I don't think I'm going to last for several hours." And that's when he told me he would drop some life rafts. The rafts missed his position by several hundred yards. As the plane flew away to refuel, an enormous rogue wave capsized his boat. Dennis was thrown into the ocean. When I managed to get back to the surface, there was my sailboat, damaged and halfway flooded. I saw the wind catch in the sail, and the boat sailed off and left me there. I had nothing. I tried desperately to catch that boat, and it sailed off and left me alone in the dark. And I knew that I was going to die there. I said, "Lord Jesus, I am going to trust you until I take my last breath." And that wouldn't be very long. It was only going to be a matter of minutes or at most a few hours before the temperature and the water and the exposure I'd been through, I would just gradually slip into unconsciousness and I would drown. For the first time in my life, I found myself in a situation where I could do nothing. Dennis swam aimlessly in the dark 250 miles from shore. Then an unexpected jolt. I bumped into a capsized life raft. It was floating in the dark with no lights. I bumped into it. I could have swam within 10 feet of this thing and never seen it, as I blundered around out there, being tossed on the waves. Within a few hours, a coast guard helicopter dropped a rescue diver into the water. He pulled Dennis into the basket, and then he hoisted him into the chopper. He was taken to the USS Eisenhower where Navy doctors treated him. Amazingly, his body temperature was 98 degrees. I had always trusted God to save my soul. Ever since He became Lord of my life, I had trusted Him to save my soul, but I never really thought He would save my life. Dennis gives thanks to the men and women of the coast guard and Navy who performed their jobs with excellence. And he believes he wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the prayers that saved his life. God used that life raft that had been dropped by the coast guard and that Navy diver that came down in there and got me. He used those men to save me, but it was God who saved me. I'm counting on Him, because I learned there that everything I did amounted to nothing. Everything I did. And it all came down to me floating alone in the dark. I'm trying to get up every morning and remind myself that I'm breathing again. I'm still breathing. I'm going to trust you, Lord Jesus. I'm going to trust you today. "I'm going to trust you today." How about you? Can you trust Him today? Can you realize just as Dennis realized, all that you do amounts for nothing. It really does. All that He did amounts to everything. The amazing thing, you look at all the religions of the world, all of them talk about how can you perfect yourself, how can you do enough good things, how can you think the right thoughts, how can you make yourself good enough for God to pay attention to you. Christianity is unique. God comes to you. And He says, "I've taken care of all of that. I've taken all your sin away, taken everything away so that nothing can separate you from Me, nothing." He's done it all. And all we have to do is trust Him. That's all we have to do. And He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. So all we have to do is trust Him, and trust Him today. Don't lean on your own understanding. All your ways, acknowledge Him. He will direct you. He'll even put life rafts in your way, so you'll bump into them. He'll do that for you, because He loves you. Now, we're going to pray. Before we pray, we're going to encourage you with some other people that have been rescued by God. Here's Annie from San Antonio. She suffered with severe depression. She attempted suicide multiple times. One night, when she was thinking about suicide, she was thinking about killing herself, she turned on the television. The 700 Club was on. And then Terry, you had this word: "You have these bouts of terrible depression where you feel like you can't fight your way out of it. Today, that condition is broken over you, and you will not have it anymore." Annie felt the peace of God covering her like a blanket. The depression lifted instantly. Even though there have been some events in her life that could have been a trigger to depression since that time, she hasn't had any trouble at all. Annie says the Lord has set her free. Amen. That's awesome. Well, this is Mark. He lives in Jackson, Tennessee. He was about to vacuum a room where The 700 Club happened to be on the television set, when he heard the Lord tell him to wait a moment. So he did. He waited, and he heard you, Gordon, give a word of knowledge. You said, "There is a husband, and you're praying for a child. Your name is Mark, and God is going to give you the child you're asking for." Well, Mark's wife, Meghan, previously had a miscarriage. So when Mark heard the word of knowledge, he claimed it. A few months later they found out that Meghan was pregnant with twins. And on July 8, 2009 she gave birth to healthy twin boys, Andrew and Gabriel. Thank you for sharing that word with us, Mark. That is amazing. I didn't know Mark. I certainly didn't know he was vacuuming the floor. I didn't know his circumstances, but God did. God did. God sent a life raft to Mark. He bumped into it while he was vacuuming the floor. What are you doing right now? Can God get your attention? Does He have to send things to you that you bump into? Can you just reach out to Him, in faith, believing, just thinking, "If I can just touch the hem of His garment, I'll get everything I need? If I can just get in touch with Him." And then realize, He is reaching out to you right now. And He has already removed every obstacle. All you have to do is believe in faith, and you'll have it. Let's pray. Lord, we just sense now that faith is rising in the audience. And we just ask now for your provision, for your rescue, for your salvation, for your healing. And for those in need, things are overwhelming. The waves just seem to be crashing down all around them. We just know that you're able to turn on that rescue beacon in their lives now. You're able to provide. You're able to heal. You're able to save. You have promised all of this to us. And so we just receive it now, in Jesus' name. We receive the provision that you've already made available. We receive that you provide all our need, according to your riches and glory." Terry, God is giving you something right now. There's someone. I believe you live down in the Gulf Coast area. And you have almost lost your business because of what's happened there with the oil spill lately. God is saying to you, "I'm going to redeem this hour in your life, in your business. I'm going to give you new ideas and a whole new perspective. I have a plan, and I will redeem what the enemy has tried to rob of you." And so hang in there. Hang in there. God is going to show you a clear, open door and a clear way. He hears your heart cry, and He sees your need. There's a man named Donald. You're praying for 12,000 dollars, and that's the immediate need. But God wants to supply over and above that, and He is going to give you a whole new vista. He's opening doors for you to walk through, and so don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of the risk. He's going to take care of the immediate need, but He wants to provide for your life. So he's doing it now. Someone else, you have a cauliflower-like growth in your lung. It is not terminal. Your life is going to be spared. Amen. If you've been touched by God, we want to share in your good report, so call us: 1-800-759-0700. God bless you. We'll see you again. 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 you're in the market for Kitty's grandmother. You rescue them from hunger and fear. 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