July 5, 2025 • 45 mins
Join us as Ray Comfort teaches us how to share the Gospel with family members, which can be some of the toughest conversations we will ever have. We will also discuss some of the common objections to Christianity and hear about Ray’s upcoming Pacific Rim trip. Don’t miss a minute of this conversation.
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S1 (00:00):
Hi friend, thank you so much for downloading this podcast
and I truly hope you hear something that encourages edifies, equips, enlightens,
and gently but consistently pushes you out there into the
marketplace of ideas. But before you start to listen and
before you go to the marketplace, let me just tell
you about this month's truth tool. And it is a
perfect fit for both the marketplace and getting out there.
It's Ray Comfort's book. Why? Jesus? If you listen to
(00:22):
the broadcast with any regularity, you know we love Ray.
He is bold, unashamed of the gospel. And yet in
such a winsome way, he delivers a truth narrative to
the man in the street, so to speak. He's written
the book Why Jesus? To Teach You How to Walk Through,
by examples and through real conversations he's had on how
to share the gospel in exactly the same way. Listen,
(00:43):
we're called to go and tell. It's not an opt in,
opt out clause. That's where we're supposed to go. And
in truth, how can we keep this good news to ourselves?
So I want you to have Why Jesus as this
month's truth tool. So you'll get some fire in your
bones about going out and sharing the good News of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. We're listener supported. radio. My
truths tools are a way of saying thank you. When
you give a gift to the program to keep us
(01:03):
going financially, just call 877 Janet 58. That's 877 Janet
58 or online at in the Market with Janet Parshall.
Again it's called Why Jesus. And you can ask for
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(01:25):
are my friends and boy, they're growing by leaps and
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won't you? Whether you'll be a partial partner or just
a one time gift so you can get a copy
of Why Jesus 877, Janet 58 or online at In
(01:45):
the Market with Janet Parshall. Now please enjoy the broadcast. Hi, friends.
This is Janet Parshall, and I want to welcome you
to the best of in the market. Today's program is
prerecorded so our phone lines are not open. But I
do hope you'll enjoy today's edition of the Best of
In the Market with Janet Parshall.
S2 (02:07):
Here are some of the news headlines we're watching.
S3 (02:09):
The conference was over. The president won a pledge.
S4 (02:11):
Americans worshiping government over God.
S3 (02:13):
Extremely rare safety move by a major 17 years.
S5 (02:17):
The Palestinians and Israelis negotiated.
S3 (02:19):
An idea is not.
S1 (02:33):
Hi, friends. Welcome to In the Market with Janet Parshall. Thrilled.
We're going to spend the hour together. All right, get ready.
Sit forward a little bit. Because when Ray comfort is
in the house, he challenges us to really remember who
we are, what we're called to do, and to be
unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to go
out and share that good news, but to do it
in such a way that we remind people that all
(02:56):
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Ooh, ooh.
That's not very nice in this culture. It's all about love,
isn't it? About toleration, about diversity and inclusion. And if
you start telling somebody that they're a sinner, well, wow,
what an immediate turn off. And then we think, no,
I think I'll pass. I don't I don't have that calling.
I don't have that gifting. It's somebody else's responsibility. Uh, well,
(03:16):
there is a specific gift of evangelism, I will grant
you that. But it is a general call to all
believers to go and tell. More importantly, even if that
weren't the directive, I have a question. How do you
keep that good news to yourself? I mean, if you
know what the cure to death is, you're going to
keep that to yourself. If you know that the worst
disease in the world can be eradicated by what was
(03:37):
done by Christ at the cross, you keep that to yourself.
How selfish. How unbelievably selfish. But more importantly, can you
contain that? I can't. The Bible talks about out of
the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. James and
John were told to sit down and be quiet because
they were rocking the boat and they said, we can't
stop talking about that which we've seen and heard. And
now if this world that's growing darker by the minute,
(03:58):
that sends us a gazillion cues a minute that they're
searching to know who they are, where they fit in
the world, if God is real and how they can
know him personally. And they've been fed a pack of
lies about if you're good enough or there is no God,
or you're just food for worms when you die. Well,
I tell you what. See those fields? Last time I checked,
they were pretty white, but, uh, workers. Yeah, not. Not
so many. That's what Ray does. He recruits workers. And
(04:20):
I'm so glad that he does. And he does it
in some unbelievably creative ways. I love the way God
makes so many of his children creative. So he is
the founder and CEO of Living Waters, best selling author
of Upwards Over. I'm sure at this point, 90 books,
including How to Know God Exists and The Evidence Bible,
which is fabulous if you don't have a copy. He
co-hosts the award winning TV program way of the master.
(04:40):
That's in every country in the world. He's the executive
producer of movies like 180 and evolution versus God, audacity,
and a whole bunch of other films. He has millions. Millions.
You heard me right. Millions of views on his YouTube channel,
and I hope that that number continues to grow. So
he is going to join us today, and we're going
to talk about several things, not the least of which
is how do you share the good news with your families?
(05:02):
And he's taken a little trip. It's called the Pacific
Rim Trip, and we're going to find out about that.
And then he's got a wonderful new booklet out called
Nutshell Answers the Top ten Objections in Christianity. What I
tell you, the resources are unlimited. They're creative. They're so excellent.
But first, Ray, the warmest of welcomes. And I got
to ask you a question, because I was reading the
dedication of a book recently and the author of the
(05:24):
book and the entire book, my $0.02 was it was
heresy Times ten, but I wanted to hear what was
being bought and sold in the marketplace of ideas. And
the dedication of the book was a real clear hint
to where the author was going as his primary thesis
in the book. And basically he said that the reason
he wrote the book is he wanted people to know
that God loves you, comma, italics, just the way you
(05:47):
are now, if you get on your bike and you
put your dog with the sunglasses out there, and you
head down to the beach and you start taking your
camera and talking to people, and you just walked around saying,
God loves you, comma, just the way you are. You'd
have people standing in line talking to you. What's wrong
with that statement?
S6 (06:02):
It's not biblical. You know, God's wrath abides on sinners.
He's a just and holy God, so that finds its
roots in idolatries. Idolatry is the the root cause of
all sin, it would seem, because if you fear God,
you've got a right understanding of God. The Bible says
through the fear of the Lord mean to depart from evil,
and you'll not depart from evil. Well, God is a
(06:23):
great big Santa Claus, celestial Santa Claus, or a divine butler,
or someone that's just smiling at what Hitler did, smiling
at rapists and murderers. No, God's wrath abides on every sinner.
The Bible says that. And every time we sin, we
store up his wrath. That's going to be revealed on
the Day of Judgment. That's a fearful thing. Jesus said, well,
the Bible says it's a fearful thing to fall into
(06:45):
the hands of the living God. Um, I think you've
seen a little video that we put out recently, a
young man came up to me and it's left a
lot of people in tears. But he he, um, he
had no desire for God whatsoever. And what the Lord
did was to put salt on his tongue. I took
him through the commandments and just created a thirst for righteousness.
And I looked back on my own conversion. I had
(07:08):
no desire for the things of God. I was enjoying
the pleasures of sin for a season, uh, before I
was a Christian. But the night I read those words
of Jesus, whoever looks upon a woman to lust for
her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.
I began to say, what? What should I do to
be made right? I didn't thirst for righteousness until I
understood that I as much desire for the word righteousness
(07:31):
as a four year old boy has for the word bath.
I just wasn't interested in righteousness. And yet what the
Lord did, is it put salt on my tongue, made
me hunger and thirst for righteousness, and how can I
be made right with God? That's what made the cross
make sense. So if you run around telling people God
loves them just as they are. They're going to continue
in sin until they face a holy God on the
(07:52):
Day of judgment. One thing I love doing with our videos,
and I mustn't overdo it, is I like sticking in
lightning and rolling thunder at the most unexpected places, so
it scares the living daylights out of people that are watching.
And I often see the comments that gave me a
terrible fright. But it's good to be reminded that God
created thunder and he created lightning, and we're not even
(08:14):
seeing it as a as a token of his anger.
It's just nature that he put into into place. And
I've been in a roll of thunder when I was
in Reno many years ago, and it scared the living
daylights out of me. It was so loud. It was
one of those thunder, thunder claps and it claps you
around your ear hole. And that's what we need. A
little bit of fear of God in our hearts, because
the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and saying,
(08:35):
God loves you and he loves you just as you are,
doesn't put the fear of God in anyone. It makes
them comfortable in their sins.
S1 (08:42):
So much there. Let me unpack a little bit. You know,
we're told that righteousness exalts a nation. And as I
look around, particularly my vantage point here in Washington DC,
righteousness is the last thing on the majority of people's
radar screen right now. In fact, if anything, it's not righteousness,
it's licentiousness. It's doing whatever's right in your own eyes.
I'm not bound by the rules. That's your truth. That's
not my truth. I am going to act like a
(09:04):
god because I'm going to create my own moral grid.
So when you talk to people and the videos, this
is a moot question. If you watch the YouTube channel
for Living Waters, because time after time after time, Ray
exemplifies exactly how to do this. Watch this one where
this young man, who was actually praying for a sign
that day, meets up with Ray and asks the Lord
into his heart. It's a powerfully moving person to person
(09:26):
contact with Jesus. But it was that that standard of
righteousness question that really helped this man realize that he
needed Jesus. So my question to you, Ray, after the
break is how does that impact your sharing the gospel
when all around us, the whole concept of righteousness seems
arcane and the antithesis of the exaltation of self. How
does that work when you're sharing the gospel? I'm asking
(09:47):
because when we talk to people then and they reject
an idea of righteousness, how do we handle that? More
with Ray comfort. In fact, we're just getting started a
whole lot more with Ray right after this. In today's world,
people are more confused than ever about truth and meaning.
(10:07):
That's why I've chosen Why Jesus by Ray comfort is
this month's truth tool. Discover why Jesus is the only
path to everlasting life, and learn how to confidently share
that hope with others. As for your copy of Why Jesus,
when you give a gift of any amount to in
the market, call eight 7758, that's eight 7758 or go
to in the market with Janet parshall.org. Always a joy
(10:29):
to spend time with. Ray comfort, founder CEO of Living Waters.
Someone who loves Jesus and just cannot keep the good
news to himself. And thank God for that. By the way,
we referenced one of his videos. Let me make this
easy for you. If you just go to youtube.com, Dotcom
put in living waters and a whole bunch of videos
will come up right away, including the one we just
talked about because it's fresh. Just posted. Can I give
(10:50):
you a hug here? Is this sincere, hurting young man
who in the 11 minutes and 44 seconds we're allowed
to be an unseen visitor in this conversation, turns his
life over to Christ. And you see how Ray is
just gentle and loving, doesn't deviate from that standard of righteousness.
And as it turns out, that's exactly what that young
man needed to hear. So this goes to the question
(11:12):
I asked just before the break, because I think some
people retreat on your approach, Ray, because they're afraid. In
this culture you can't talk about righteousness. Everything is about
exaltation of self. Righteousness requires some submission there to a
higher authority, to a moral grid that's bigger and greater
than you are. And we live in a culture right
now that basically says you're your own truth and you're
your own gods. So when you're interacting with people, do
(11:35):
you ever get pushback on this idea of righteousness? Or
maybe you don't even use the word.
S6 (11:39):
No, I don't I don't get pushback usually. I'll probably
get probably get murdered this Saturday, but my guys have
got a film that they've been told to film it
if that happens. Um, because that'll go viral. Um, righteousness. Yeah.
It's a word that's foreign to unsaved people in the
secular world. Haven't got a clue what it is. So
I don't start with righteousness. I've got an agenda. My
(12:01):
agenda is this I see in my mind this is
a person who is asleep in bed and their house
is on fire. That didn't even smell the smoke. They're
just quite happy to be in a house that's on fire,
and they don't realise they're in great danger. So what
I've got to do is not only awaken them, but
cause them to be alarmed. I don't want them to
lie in bed and say, yep, you've convinced me my
(12:22):
house is on fire. Thanks a lot. And they just
roll over and snooze off. No, you want them to
be alarmed so they run out of the house. And
so often I'll say to someone, do you realize you're
in great danger? Because I believe you are. Are you
in great danger? I say, no, I'm not. So what's
going to happen to you when you stand before God?
Are you a good person? They say, yeah, I'm a
very good person and that's biblical. Bible says most every
(12:44):
man will proclaim his own goodness. They go about to
establish their own righteousness, being ignorant of the righteousness which
is of God. And so, well, let's see how you're
going to do on Judgment Day. We're going to go
to the Ten Commandments. Are you familiar with those? And
they say, yeah, sure. Can you name any. Yeah. You
shall not steal, shall not lie. So have you broken those. Yeah.
So you're a lying thief. Well, I wouldn't say that.
(13:04):
I say I would because you just told me you
lied and stolen. Ever use God's name in vain and
say I do it all the time? People don't realize
what they're doing. They're taking the holy name of God,
God's holy name, and using it in place of a
filthy word to express disgust called blasphemy. And then the
the one that got me. Jesus said, if you look
(13:24):
with lust, you commit adultery in the heart. And so
what that does is that that kicks the conscience into action.
The conscience is seared. Uh, the Bible says that their
conscience is seared, as with a hot iron. I remember
seeing a chef in Hawaii many years ago with a steak.
And he says, look at this. This is I'm just
going to seal this. And I watched very closely, and
(13:45):
he just turned it over and said it on the outside,
both sides. So it looked softly cooked, but on the
inside it was still soft and tender. And that's what
the sin is. Conscience is like, it's seared, it's still
got life in there, but it's not evident. And what
you've got to do is take the sharp blade of
God's law and cut into that conscience, because they know
intuitively it's wrong to lie and steal and blaspheme and
(14:06):
lust and fornicate and commit adultery. The work of the
law is written on their heart, the conscience bearing witness.
The word conscience means with knowledge. And so that's the
that's the ally right in the heart of the enemy
that's going to agree with the commandments. And what it
does is it condemns the sinner. That's its purpose. Paul said,
the commandment commandment, which I thought was ordained to life,
(14:29):
brought death to me. He was looking to the commandments
to be his friend on Judgment Day, not as enemy.
But that's the revelation that he had, because they reveal
what we are. In truth, they show us we're sinners
and that prepares our heart for Grace and Jenna. If
anything I could point to as opening the eyes with
God's help of a lost person. It's, uh, Romans 623.
(14:51):
The wages of sin is death. I spoke to a
young lady about two hours ago in local college. I said,
do you know what the Bible says causes death? She said, no.
I said, there's wages. God is paying you in death
for your sins. And then I explained it. I said,
it's like a judge looks at a criminal who thinks
he's a good person, but the judge knows he's committed murder.
(15:11):
So he says, I'm going to show you how serious
your crime is. I'm giving you the death sentence. This
is your wages. This is what you've earned. And I
said to this young lady, I says, sin is so
serious to a holy God. He's given you the death sentence.
You're on death row. You're in a nice holding cell
with a nice blue roof, good air conditioning, good lighting.
But this life is a holding cell, and your death
(15:32):
will be evidence to you that God is deadly serious
about sin. That is an eye opener. You see, the
eyes widen because sin, as far as they're concerned, is
something you play with. It's like a little puppy. It's
not like a ferocious tiger, but once they see it,
it's the killer. It's the death always goes hand in
hand with, uh, with sin. The wages of sin is death. Uh,
(15:54):
lust brings forth sin, and sin when it's conceived, brings
forth death. The soul that sins, it shall die. And
so once they see that that what their enemy is,
they begin to smell the smoke, see their danger. And
that's when they begin to be alarmed. And that's when
the gospel comes in, which says, you can run out
of the house now and God will forgive you at
an instant you'll be saved from the fires of hell
(16:14):
if you repent and trust in Jesus. And suddenly the
gospel makes sense because the Bible says the preaching of
the cross is foolishness to those that perish. It's not
just a foolish sounding message, it's foolish to a proud person.
The Bible says God resists the proud, gives grace to
the humble. And I see people just like water off
a duck's back. They resist those commandments, and I think
(16:37):
they're not going to. They're not going to understand the gospel.
And when I get to the gospel, they just haven't
got a clue what I'm talking about. Because a man
who doesn't think he's broken the law won't be impressed
that someone paid a fine for him wouldn't make sense
to him, because he thinks he's a good person who
hasn't broken the law. When someone's humble of heart and says, oh,
I've broken those commandments, I've done things that are morally wrong,
I have drunk iniquity like water. Suddenly the good news
(17:00):
of the fine being paid makes sense. And they embrace.
They embrace the gospel. And it's just so wonderful to see.
S1 (17:05):
Wow. Ray just did a magnificent job explaining exactly what
his approach is. And you can see this in action
by going to his YouTube channel. Millions and millions of
people go there. Just go to YouTube, type in the
word living waters and subscribe. It's right there on mine.
I look at these videos every single day. I want
you to do that as well. There are tutorials they
teach me, and this idea of I'm going to pull
(17:27):
back because I don't want to offend anybody. Well, sin
is an offense. It's deadly. And there was a price
to be paid. Christ paid it. Why would you need
a Savior if you don't realize that you're a sinner?
Just follow suit. Doesn't. I want to talk about some
more things with Ray. There's always great stuff to talk
about with him. We'll continue right after this. What a
(17:55):
joy to spend time with Ray comfort. He's so, so
exemplary in the way in which he shares the gospel.
And I hope just puts fire in your bones about
doing exactly the same thing. I don't know when Jesus
is coming, but I do know he's not willing that
any should perish, and he gives us the privilege of
being able to share that good news. How come we're
not showing up for work? So I love it when
Ray comes because he gives us a myriad of resources
(18:16):
and stories and examples of what it's like, and we're
without excuse, really, to get out there and really share
the good news. So you wrote something called The Blue
Book on evangelism, and I want to take one section
of that book and talk about it. But first, just
the general overview. I love the title. What was your
purpose in putting this book together?
S6 (18:32):
Well, we have an academy, um, every six months or so,
maybe every year. I don't know, I'm the CEO. I
haven't got a clue. Uh, it's called the Ambassador Academy,
where people from all around the world come and spend
three days with us and learn how to open air. Preach.
And we go to Hollywood and places like that so
they can share their faith. We have a minimum amount
of teaching, I think, for half a day or something
(18:54):
like that. They visit our studios, visit the ministry, and
we all say hi, and then out they go and
it's life changing. We've had, I think, 27 academies. And
so this is the official book that we use for
the Ambassadors Academy. It's the Ambassadors Guide, and it's filled
with questions that people have asked about evangelism. And I
answer them.
S1 (19:14):
Wow. Well, one of the just marvelous. I didn't know
about that program. Every time I talk to you, I
learn about another aspect of the ministry. That's so awesome.
S6 (19:20):
I learn something else too. This is the first. I've
never done this before. My dog is in the studio
with me. Oh.
S1 (19:29):
The question is, are the sunglasses on or off?
S6 (19:32):
No, they're off because it's quite dark in here. But
she's behaving herself. I'm very impressed.
S1 (19:38):
I am too. But if we hear something in the background,
it's not the hounds of hell. So we shouldn't be scared.
S6 (19:42):
Okay, good. Yeah, right.
S1 (19:43):
I'm glad. Okay, good. In this book, one of the
things that you did, because this is adapted right out
of the Blue book on evangelism, and now we know
how it's tied back to the Academy. You really tackle
what I think is a huge subject. And, oh, it's
so hard for so many people. And that is how
do you go about sharing the gospel with family members
who do not yet believe a thank you for including
(20:04):
that question? And b why is that such a hard
question for people?
S6 (20:08):
Well, it's an easy one to answer. I've got a
sister who's not a Christian, and I'd rather witness to
a thousand machete wielding atheists than speak to her about
the things of God. Um, and it's not because she's
a monster. It's because of, I have said, a thousand atheists.
So what? They already don't like me anyway. But if
(20:28):
I upset my sister, I've lost my relationship with her.
So I've got to be very, very careful. And so
Zacchaeus has become a Goliath as far as I'm concerned
with her recently. I don't know what we were talking
about going on cruise ships, and I said something. I'd
like to go on a cruise ship. No, I wouldn't,
and she said, you just lied because I changed my mind.
(20:49):
And she said, you lied. And I thought, oh, boy,
if was a non-Christian, I'd just tear into them and say,
you know, get the log out of your own eye.
Try and pick a speck out of mine. Who do
you think you are? But it was my sister, and
I just had to grin and bear, and my wife
was listening to the conversation because it was on speaker,
and she just thought, what is going on here? So yeah,
(21:09):
with family, you just win them with love. You've got
to you buy them presents when it's not Christmas, send
them gifts when it's not their birthday. Um, go in
and mow the lawn where they want it mowed or not.
Just do good things for them. Uh, because, uh, by
the by the will of God, by by your well-doing
you put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, Scripture says.
And so just be rich in good works and let
(21:31):
them see your faith rather than hear your faith. Because
when I was a brand new Christian man, I blew it.
I was like a bull in a China shop. I'm
not exaggerating. I, I waited for two weeks before I
unloaded on my mom and dad. That was a long
time for me because they were in their sins and
they die. They go to hell and I love them.
And and so I said, mom, I want to talk
with you. And we went to the bedroom, sat down.
(21:52):
I gave her about an hour. And then same with
my dad. I think I got decisions from them, which
was ridiculous. I didn't understand that salvation is of the Lord.
I thought you could just manipulate someone to get right
with God and you just can't. And that caused a
lot of damage. It took years for that to be, uh,
be healed because of my zeal without knowledge. And so
when you have the knowledge that salvation of the Lord
(22:13):
is of the Lord, that no man comes to the
father unless no man comes to the son, unless the
father draws him, you know that you've got to pray
for them. Look for opportunities to share the gospel. In
the meantime, uh, be rich in good works and let
your good works show your faith.
S1 (22:26):
Well, you talk about dealing with the concerns in your
prayer closet, and I love the part about the gifts,
but I love the idea that you really do take
this to the Lord. I mean, when you think about it,
we've got a pretty good example in Jesus. His brothers
and sisters rejected him, right? They kind of thought he
was out of his mind. So if they're going to
do that to the Savior himself, you're in pretty good company.
But you saturate this in prayer. You then do the
(22:48):
action so they can see the transformation. But you bring
up something else in this particular part of the book.
S6 (22:53):
Before you bring that up, I'd like to bring something
up that I found interesting because I think about it
a lot. John 17. We have the prayer of Jesus, Jesus,
which is very long. Um, who was there? Who was
there writing with shorthand? Yes.
S1 (23:06):
I thought that so many times.
S6 (23:08):
Yeah. We've got the details of everything you said in
that long prayer. And, you know, disciples. I mean, slow down, Jesus,
I didn't could you say that again? I missed it,
I'm writing. I'm writing on a sand script or whatever
they used in those days. Um, but it just shows
the inspiration of Scripture that God let us have an
ear into what Jesus was praying. The intimate prayer with
(23:28):
his father.
S1 (23:30):
Oh, that's so interesting. You bring that up. Because, Ray,
first of all, I love that passage because there's so
many things that John writes about in that, in this
private conversation between the son and his father. And I've
often said that God didn't have to give us permission
to step into the privacy of that moment and hear
this communication between the father and the son. But am
I so glad he did? Because in that prayer, there's
(23:52):
so much he says. First of all, he's praying for me.
He's on his way to Calvary, and he's praying for me.
That's overwhelming. Second of all, he says, I don't want
to take him out of the world. I want you
to sanctify them with thy word. Thy word is truth.
Underscores the power and the authority of scriptures. And not
only that, but going out and telling us exactly what's
reiterated again in John 17. Because you're not supposed to
(24:14):
keep this good news to yourself. My prayer is not
that you keep them out of the world. You got
to go into the world to tell somebody about Jesus.
I want to continue with this conversation about how we
share the good news with our family members. Gulp. I
know it's tough and then so many other things I
want to talk about the Pacific Rim trip that's coming
up too. And I also want to talk this this
wonderful new booklet about how you deal with ten of
the biggest objections to Christianity. A ton of stuff from
(24:36):
Living Waters. I got a whole hour of race time
and I feel like I barely scratched the surface. So
you check it out at Living waters.com back after this.
Anyone can read the news every day on in the market.
We're committed to telling the news as seen through the
(24:58):
lens of Scripture. As Christians, we must be informed about
what's going on in the world and respond appropriately. When
you become a partial partner, you ensure that we continue
here on your station, equipping the church to discuss current events,
using the Bible as our solid foundation. Why not become
a partial partner today? Call 877 Janet 58 or go
online to in the market with Janet Parshall. We're visiting
(25:20):
with Ray comfort, who's the founder and CEO of Living
Waters and the best selling author of dozens and dozens
and dozens of books, including How to Know God Exists
and The Evidence Bible. Let me say again, if you
don't have an evidence Bible, you really, really should. It
is a treasured part of your legacy library. He co-hosts
the award winning TV program way of the master. It's
on every country in the world. He's an executive producer
(25:41):
of films like 180, evolution versus God, audacity, the list
goes on and on and on. And he teaches us
how to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. You want
to know how that's done? Just go to YouTube, subscribe
to Living Waters, become one of the multiple millions of
people I am one to watch these videos, to learn
how to be bold and effective in sharing the good
(26:01):
news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So we're talking
about this Blue book of evangelism. By the way. I
have a link on that. If you're interested in getting
a copy, go to the information page, click on through
and you can get a copy of this as well.
But we were talking about one section that was in
this book about how you share the good news with
your family, some of the toughest stuff out there. And
as we noted earlier, we're in good company. It was
tough for Jesus and his family, too. And so one
(26:23):
of the things that was raised, and I'm not surprised, Ray,
and you hinted at this in the reaction with your sister,
is that a lot of family members who know us,
they know the good, the bad and the ugly. Okay.
They were there. They saw us. They know everything about us.
And so it's real easy to say, you say one thing,
you live another way. And there's the issue of being hypocritical.
How do we tackle that?
S6 (26:42):
Yeah. You don't want any hypocrisy in life. I don't
care what people call me. Stumpy, ugly, whatever. Um, just
don't call me a hypocrite because I don't like being
called a hypocrite. I want people to say I disagree
with him, but he's genuine in what he believes. I'd
hate to be thought of as a hypocrite. And nothing
destroys a testimony like just a tiny bit of hypocrisy.
(27:03):
Just sit down with your family and watch a dirty
movie that's going to destroy your testimony, or let out
a word that you shouldn't, shouldn't say as a Christian,
that's going to destroy your testimony. So you have to
be strive to be perfect. You're not perfect, but you're
going to strive to be blameless. And, uh, and so
you have to have a very sensitive conscience and, and,
and realize that, you know, my sisters mentioned in the
(27:26):
book of Psalms. Oh, really? A lot of people are. Yeah.
It's I can't remember where the psalm is, but it
says and they say, aha, aha, it's isn't Psalms. And
that's exactly what they say. Um, you know, you're supposed
to be a Christian. Look at that. You're wearing you're
wearing shoes that are just too fancy for you. Who
(27:46):
do you think you are?
S1 (27:49):
But I bet Jesus heard the same thing. Who do
you think you are? I mean, I bet that was
a cover. We don't know. And I'm certainly not going
to do bad sloppy eisegesis here. But it seems to
me that when you think that your brother is out
of his mind, you grew up with him, you're certainly
not going to suddenly look at him as the Savior
of the world. And obviously that changes. James goes on
and heads the church at Jerusalem, loses his life for
the cause of the cross. But I bet it was.
(28:11):
Are you kidding? Except that the problem would have been
Jesus would have been a perfect child, so they really
wouldn't have had a lot of things to go after
him about.
S6 (28:18):
Absolutely. You know, one thing can really help is an accent.
Go to another country and they think you're intelligent. That's
what I did.
S1 (28:28):
That's fabulous. All right, one last thing. Talk to me
about the person who says we put the fun in dysfunctional.
They're not talking to me. I'm trying to communicate. They're
not responding to my emails. They won't take my call.
And yet, like you and your mom and dad and, boy,
there isn't a one of us who I don't think
at the beginning of our walk with the Lord didn't
hit the bull in the China shop part. You just
you can't keep that good news to yourself. And then
(28:49):
if you love people, you especially want your loved ones
to make sure that they're never going to be absent
from God for all of eternity. So I get the
urgency there. But again, sometimes our emotions precedes our judgment
on that. So if you're cut off, if there really
isn't a good way to communicate. I love the encouraging
advice that you give in the blueprint, The Blue Book
of Evangelism, because you say there's still things we can do.
(29:09):
Talk to me about that.
S6 (29:11):
Yeah, I, I love sending people that don't like me
a gift basket. And I've seen a lot of gift baskets.
Harry and David, I actually this. You want to hear
a disaster? Here's a disaster. It's the worst disaster I've experienced.
I went to we were going to do one of
our movies. I'm not sure what it was. Oh, the
(29:31):
fool us. And we showed it at the Ark. And
I found out that in Kentucky, at that same date
for the premiere, there was an atheist convention. So I
got ten fruit baskets delivered to them from me, inviting
them to the premiere. And Harry and David delivered them
the day after the convention ended.
S1 (29:53):
Oh, no.
S6 (29:55):
Yes.
S1 (29:58):
So the hotel staff had a great time, didn't they?
S6 (30:00):
Yes I did. I think they must have. Oh, it
was uh it was, I was very, very sad. But
I've learned Romans 828, all things work together for good,
even fruit baskets that arrive a day late.
S1 (30:13):
Exactly, exactly. But yeah, you you talk about the fact
that we have to stop and step back and understand
that this is the work of the Holy Spirit. And
when we really get into the power of prayer and
intercessory prayer, even if I can't talk to a loved one,
you know, I've thought to myself how precious it is
that I have been given permission to enter the throne
(30:33):
room of grace, and nothing, and no one can keep
me out of that prayer, that conversation with my Heavenly Father.
So even if I can't talk to an earthly relative,
I can certainly talk to my Heavenly Father and ask
him for intercession. And that's that's an encouragement. We you know,
we are not responsible for anybody's salvation. We can even
plant the seed water or you're there for the harvest.
(30:53):
But the bottom line is, isn't it wonderful that we
have no restraints? Even if a family member won't talk
to us, we can still pray for them and they
can't stop it.
S6 (31:01):
Hit them in the prayer closet. That's what I like doing. Um.
S1 (31:06):
I'm sure that's in first Maccabees one nine. I just
haven't found it yet.
S6 (31:10):
That's it. Yes, but you've got to put yourself in
their position. You've got to put yourself in their position.
Imagine if you were in their shoes and they had
become a religious person, and they want to share with
you their cultish beliefs. Right? That's that's how they're kind
of feeling. And so that gives me an empathy and
understanding of why they're like they are with their arm
stretched out a bit. You know, just let's talk about
(31:31):
other things and not that. But there's the the wonderful
question that I just keep telling people about. Just ask anyone,
you can even do this with Uncle Arthur at the
Christmas table. Um, do you think there's an afterlife? You
don't mention God, Jesus, heaven, hell, the Bible, sin, righteousness
and judgment. Just ask for his opinion. Do you think
there's an afterlife? And that can provoke a wonderful conversation
(31:54):
that can steer towards the things of God. Um. Do
you think there's an afterlife? Uncle Arthur, what do you think? No,
I don't think so. You don't think there's heaven and hell?
Do you believe in God? Do you ever read the Bible?
It says there's a heaven and hell. Do you believe that?
And as you know, the Old Testament, God promised he
would destroy death in the New Testament, tells us how
he did it. Did you know that all you're doing
is asking questions and it can provoke thought and say, look,
(32:17):
thanks for listening to me. I really appreciate it. And
I often do that. Really thank people from my heart
for listening to me, because it's a privilege to share
the gospel with someone and for someone to give you
their ear, give you their time, and you're talking about
the thing that matters most. And that's what I often
say to people say, you know, no one talks about
their fear of death. So we're going to talk about
that which matters most. You know, what's going to happen
(32:39):
to you when you die. And they're all thinking about it.
It's a horror beyond words. And so to bring it
out into the open is a wonderful healing for them.
S1 (32:46):
Yeah. And also, you just exemplified the fact that asking
questions is non-controversial. It's non-confrontational, and it's a wonderful way
of dialoguing without someone thinking you're talking at them rather
than talking with them. And I think so often as believers, we're,
we're so and I understand that in most cases, I
think it comes from a good place. But just listen first, right?
(33:07):
I mean, if we use Jesus again as our example,
how did he know exactly the right thing to say
to a farmer or a fisherman or a woman caught
in the act of adultery? He was aware and listening
to what was happening before he gave the response. I
know he's God incarnate, but there's a takeaway on how
to effectively engage people, it seems to me.
S6 (33:24):
Yeah, and he's given us his Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit gives us wisdom and leads us into all truth,
gives us understanding. And so that's my great hope. I
often when I get onto my bike with my dog
wearing sunglasses, sunglasses are on the dog, not the bike.
And that's not a bad idea.
S1 (33:44):
That we get even more people talking to you, I'm sure.
S6 (33:47):
Yes. Yeah. So I'm just saying, Lord, if this is
a waste of time, if you don't help me, and
I often say, I don't know if you've seen the
video of Mario, a guy that I spoke to that
just broke down in tears and said, I think 5
million views or something like that. I often say to
the Lord, as I get on the bike, give me
a Mario, give me a Mario. Someone whose heart you're prepared,
somebody who's got a humble heart and who will embrace
(34:09):
the gospel. Please give that to me, because I know
what it's going to do is multiply that gospel message
and get to the ears of literally millions. So that's
my earnest prayer.
S1 (34:18):
Wow. That's amazing. Talk to me. And there's so much
you want to ask you, but I want to do
a quick segue here and ask you to tell me
about the Pacific Rim trip now, in case people haven't
picked up on the accent. All right. You're from New Zealand,
and so the Pacific Rim is in that area. So
it's more than just going back to your homeland. What's
going on?
S6 (34:38):
Yeah, well, um, we've actually done the trip. It's been done.
It's been filmed, and it's in production at the moment. Yeah,
it's very exciting. I've seen I've seen a lot of
the footage, and what I actually did is I sent
the guys, I didn't go. I stayed in California. I
roughed it at home.
S1 (34:57):
With your dog and the bike with the sunglasses. It
all worked out. I got it, okay.
S6 (35:01):
And what they did is they fed that in, and
they said, while we're in, you know, Fiji and Tahiti
and Samoa raised back in California, and they just fed
in witnessing clips into the footage, which is just great.
But they went to Australia where they talk funny in
Australia and, and they, they went to Sydney, I think,
in Melbourne and preached on the streets there and witnessed
(35:21):
two people. Australia is pretty hard, uh, spiritually it's not
like America. Same with New Zealand, a pretty secular. But
they trace my steps. They went back to where I
open air, preached almost every day for 12 years. Uh,
and I crossed swords with a guy called the Wizard,
a guy who dressed like a wizard. And he was
a friendly enemy. He let me preach off his ladder
often to his crowd, and he had crowds like 3
(35:43):
or 400. It was just wonderful. So they went back
and spoke to him. He's like 115 now. We're not
quite I think he's in his late 80s. Uh, but
they had a wonderful we gave him an evidence Bible
signed by me because we haven't seen each other for
about 35 years. And he it was just very moving.
And then they traced the steps back to where I, um,
where a portion of a sermon by Charles Spurgeon, sparked
(36:05):
my understanding of what Jesus did when he opened up
the commandments, and they went back to where I actually
found that. So it's very interesting. And then they went
to Tahiti and Fiji and Samoa and Hawaii and, uh,
it's very exciting. It's the wow.
S1 (36:19):
When we come back, I want to. Well, that's exactly right. And,
you know, it's the whole truth of the whole gospel
to the whole world, including the Pacific Rim. A couple
of questions, because I want to ask you where we
can find that video. I've seen it, so I know
it's available of you taking that ladder from the Wizard
and the friendship that developed there. So I want to
know how people can still see that. And then when
(36:40):
are we going to be able to see this completed trip?
Because it's going to be fantastic. Ray, comfort is with us.
Don't forget, we got a lot of information on our
information page back after this. We're spending the hour with
Ray comfort, who's the founder and CEO of Living Waters,
the author of so many books, great YouTube channel, the
list goes on and on and on. Just go to
(37:00):
Living waters. Com. And there's just so many excellent resources
out there. Two that I have featured is one, the
Blue Book on evangelism. It was explaining earlier this is
part of their academy, and it really does break down
how to share the gospel and answers lots of tough questions.
I just pulled a couple that was how do you
share the gospel with your family members? And then another
new booklet that he's got out is called Nutshell Answers
(37:21):
The Top ten Objections to Christianity. I'm going to touch
on that in a bit, but I left two hanging participles.
One is I love the story about the relationship you
have with, quote, the Wizard and how he really turned
around and said, okay, I've got this audience now you
get to share the gospel with them. And there was
a friendship that ensued. As a result of that, I
got to see that video. I don't know how in
the world I did. Is it still available for people
(37:42):
to see?
S6 (37:43):
Yeah, it's called The Full Effect and it's about me.
I'm the Fool, and it's a very compelling story. And
it starts off with a wizard where it all started,
and you see him in his prime on his ladder.
And it was the day I left to come to
live in the US, and it's a very moving moment.
S1 (38:02):
Yeah, absolutely. And yet you still left an indelible mark
because he took that Bible and he remembered you. And
how precious is that? You know, again, God is not
willing that any should perish. Let's hope he comes to
read that book and know the Lord is his personal
Savior before he steps into eternity. The other part is,
this series looks absolutely fabulous. I mean, you don't stop
and think unless you're a missionary and that's where your
(38:24):
heart or your mission serves. You're not thinking about Fiji
and Tahiti and all of these other areas, and yet
it's still the gospel of Jesus Christ. So when you
put this all together, because I can't wait to see it.
S6 (38:35):
You can see it now on living TV, TV. Living
waters TV. It's all there, ready to go. And all
the other episodes that we've got 165 episodes, uh, on
that same platform.
S1 (38:50):
And that is a new. That's a relatively new platform,
isn't it? Right.
S6 (38:53):
Yes, it's brand new. Um, did you see the series
that went to Europe and preach the gospel in 13
countries in 13 days. That was a wonderful time, and
I think I might have told you before that the
whole idea, my idea was they would eat healthy and
get plenty of sleep. And after three days we were
eating fast food and no one had been to sleep.
It was just. It was crazy.
S1 (39:15):
Wow. But it's exhilarating, isn't it? To be able to
share and to see the different response. And it doesn't
make any difference whether you live in Paris or whether
you live in Fiji. It's still the same God shaped
void in the human heart. It's still the same Savior.
It's still the same gospel message. And that, to me,
always just underscores the power and the authority of the Scripture.
There isn't a European version and a Pacific Rim version.
(39:36):
It's one message of salvation and one. Well, like the
Bible tells us, one faith, one baptism, right? I mean,
it's the same wherever you go, which I think is fabulous.
You touched quickly on the climate, and I'm fascinated by this,
that it's kind of hard spiritually for New Zealand and Australia.
Why do you think that is?
S6 (39:54):
I'm not sure. America. I remember when I first came
over here, there were 1350 Christian radio stations, and there
was New Zealand had one Christian radio station. It took
13 years to get a licence. Australia didn't have any
because that's just a land of criminals and Ken Ham.
And so they're very hard and secular.
S1 (40:14):
Less people saw that slip in. Exactly. Okay, good.
S6 (40:19):
We text each other every day. Have done for years.
Most texts we've ever done with each other is 220
in 1 day. All of them are insults from him
saying how ugly I am because he can't. He can't
show love. He's Australian, so he does it in insults.
S1 (40:35):
But I got to tell you what. Speaking of him,
this is a diversion, but I'm glad we're taking it.
You posted two days ago that the media was lying
about Ken Ham's arc. Talk to me about this. I
thought this was fascinating.
S6 (40:48):
Yes. The Associated Press did a little video on the arc.
It hasn't had that many views. No wonder. And they
just filmed nobody there. And it was just crazy. They
filmed the big, big boat and no one standing around it.
Then they two people going through the museum. And so
I said, they're just not being truthful here. And so
I got footage of hundreds or even thousands lining up
(41:11):
to see that arc. And I've been to the Smithsonian
Institute and in DC, I think it is, and it's
nothing compared to the arc. The arc is so classily done.
I'm just surprised Ken had anything to do with it.
S1 (41:24):
Well, there's slipped by again, but you got to pay
attention here. Well, you know, what's interesting is a couple
of stories. Number one, remember last week they talked again
about they think this might be the remains of a boat,
and it's on a mountain in Turkey. And that kind
of resurfaces on a regular basis. And the other thing, too,
is it's the anniversary of the infamous scopes trial. So
(41:45):
I'm thinking, okay, in the newsroom, that was the angle
they were going to take. So I don't know, let's
go to those crazy creationists. And so we'll talk about
what's going on at the Ark. And yet as you say,
it draws people from around the world. And so you
put together a wonderful video supporting him and pointing out
the fact that there was such a surprise. We repeat ourselves,
such dishonesty in the secular press reporting about the popularity
(42:08):
of this.
S6 (42:09):
Absolutely. And if you want to upset Ken Ham, call
it a boat, I always do. It's not a boat,
I says. I like your boat, Ken. It's got New
Zealand wood in it, hasn't it? Because they use New
Zealand wood for the ark so you can't get past that.
S1 (42:23):
Oh dear. And he'll never be able to claim Australian wood. Right.
There you go.
S6 (42:26):
That's right. Amazing.
S1 (42:28):
Let me touch quickly. Let me touch quickly on the
booklet which is wonderful. Nutshell answers. And it's the top
ten objections to Christianity. You can get a copy by
clicking on through and finding out how you can purchase
some of these and do it. And they're wonderful gospel tracts,
by the way. Part of Ken's bio and I should
read this every time is always. He's never left his
house without a gospel track in decades.
S6 (42:51):
And did you say Ken's bio?
S1 (42:53):
Did I say.
S6 (42:53):
I think you did? Okay. This interview is over.
S7 (42:57):
It's now over. It's finished. Exactly.
S1 (42:59):
Sorry, Ken. We'll get back to me later on that one.
S7 (43:02):
So you never leave.
S1 (43:05):
Without a track. So in this, you take a look
at 50 or 10 questions, which I think are terrific.
Let me just pull one out. And that is an
objection that says a loving God wouldn't send people to hell.
Talk to me about this.
S6 (43:17):
Yeah. Loving God. God doesn't send anyone to hell. Sin
takes them there. Same as a judge. Judge doesn't judge,
doesn't send someone to prison. His crimes send him there.
And that's what people don't understand. The judge just carries
out justice. And on Judgment Day, God will do that
which is right. And that's a fearful thing when you
realize your own guilt and your own secret sins.
S1 (43:36):
Yeah. Amen and amen. Now, that's one of ten objections.
These are marvelous gospel tracts to be able to use
and to teach yourself. Because you're going to hear these
things in the marketplace, you're going to know how to respond.
So living waters, calm living waters. waters.tv. Fabulous new streaming
platform with content that's out of this world, quite literally.
So this trip on the Pacific Rim that's now up
(43:58):
there for you to be able to watch the Blue
Book on evangelism. I've got that as a direct link
so you can find out how to get your copy
in this marvelous little booklet called Nutshell Answers the top
ten Objections to Christianity. Direct link for those but a
ton of resources at Living waters.com. And just don't forget
go to YouTube, put in the word living waters, subscribe
to the channel. And I don't know how his team
(44:19):
does this, but I'm telling you, there's fresh material there constantly.
I can't keep up, but every minute I spend watching
those is an encouragement to me. It's a tutorial for me,
and quite frankly, it puts fire in my bones to
want to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Love
you Ray. Thank you for all that you do. Love
our conversations. Thank you friend. Check out all the resources
and then ask the Lord to open the door of
opportunity and go and tell somebody the good news. Thanks friends.
(44:42):
We'll see you next time on In the Market with
Janet Parshall.
S8 (44:47):
Retractable claws up to 1.5in long, capable of jumping 36ft.
A roar that can be heard five miles away. The
lion King of the beasts. Picture yourself surrounded by several.
Like Daniel, he determined to prey, though he knew he
(45:08):
would pay. Are we willing to face the lions of
our culture? Be a Daniel. A challenge for Moody Radio.
S9 (45:18):
How long have you been a part of the Moody
Radio family?
S10 (45:20):
Well, I've been listening to Moody since 1993. And, I mean,
I get up with booty, I go to bed with Moody,
and it just. It's been a blessing in my life
for all these years. The teaching and the worship. And
Moody is a station that is really rooted in the
Word of God. In the series about who is God.
S9 (45:40):
Serious about God? That's us. And we're seriously grateful for
listeners like you.
Hi friend, thank you so much for downloading this podcast
and I truly hope you hear something that encourages edifies, equips, enlightens,
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It's Ray Comfort's book. Why? Jesus? If you listen to
(00:22):
the broadcast with any regularity, you know we love Ray.
He is bold, unashamed of the gospel. And yet in
such a winsome way, he delivers a truth narrative to
the man in the street, so to speak. He's written
the book Why Jesus? To Teach You How to Walk Through,
by examples and through real conversations he's had on how
to share the gospel in exactly the same way. Listen,
(00:43):
we're called to go and tell. It's not an opt in,
opt out clause. That's where we're supposed to go. And
in truth, how can we keep this good news to ourselves?
So I want you to have Why Jesus as this
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(01:03):
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(01:45):
the Market with Janet Parshall. Now please enjoy the broadcast. Hi, friends.
This is Janet Parshall, and I want to welcome you
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In the Market with Janet Parshall.
S2 (02:07):
Here are some of the news headlines we're watching.
S3 (02:09):
The conference was over. The president won a pledge.
S4 (02:11):
Americans worshiping government over God.
S3 (02:13):
Extremely rare safety move by a major 17 years.
S5 (02:17):
The Palestinians and Israelis negotiated.
S3 (02:19):
An idea is not.
S1 (02:33):
Hi, friends. Welcome to In the Market with Janet Parshall. Thrilled.
We're going to spend the hour together. All right, get ready.
Sit forward a little bit. Because when Ray comfort is
in the house, he challenges us to really remember who
we are, what we're called to do, and to be
unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to go
out and share that good news, but to do it
in such a way that we remind people that all
(02:56):
have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Ooh, ooh.
That's not very nice in this culture. It's all about love,
isn't it? About toleration, about diversity and inclusion. And if
you start telling somebody that they're a sinner, well, wow,
what an immediate turn off. And then we think, no,
I think I'll pass. I don't I don't have that calling.
I don't have that gifting. It's somebody else's responsibility. Uh, well,
(03:16):
there is a specific gift of evangelism, I will grant
you that. But it is a general call to all
believers to go and tell. More importantly, even if that
weren't the directive, I have a question. How do you
keep that good news to yourself? I mean, if you
know what the cure to death is, you're going to
keep that to yourself. If you know that the worst
disease in the world can be eradicated by what was
(03:37):
done by Christ at the cross, you keep that to yourself.
How selfish. How unbelievably selfish. But more importantly, can you
contain that? I can't. The Bible talks about out of
the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. James and
John were told to sit down and be quiet because
they were rocking the boat and they said, we can't
stop talking about that which we've seen and heard. And
now if this world that's growing darker by the minute,
(03:58):
that sends us a gazillion cues a minute that they're
searching to know who they are, where they fit in
the world, if God is real and how they can
know him personally. And they've been fed a pack of
lies about if you're good enough or there is no God,
or you're just food for worms when you die. Well,
I tell you what. See those fields? Last time I checked,
they were pretty white, but, uh, workers. Yeah, not. Not
so many. That's what Ray does. He recruits workers. And
(04:20):
I'm so glad that he does. And he does it
in some unbelievably creative ways. I love the way God
makes so many of his children creative. So he is
the founder and CEO of Living Waters, best selling author
of Upwards Over. I'm sure at this point, 90 books,
including How to Know God Exists and The Evidence Bible,
which is fabulous if you don't have a copy. He
co-hosts the award winning TV program way of the master.
(04:40):
That's in every country in the world. He's the executive
producer of movies like 180 and evolution versus God, audacity,
and a whole bunch of other films. He has millions. Millions.
You heard me right. Millions of views on his YouTube channel,
and I hope that that number continues to grow. So
he is going to join us today, and we're going
to talk about several things, not the least of which
is how do you share the good news with your families?
(05:02):
And he's taken a little trip. It's called the Pacific
Rim Trip, and we're going to find out about that.
And then he's got a wonderful new booklet out called
Nutshell Answers the Top ten Objections in Christianity. What I
tell you, the resources are unlimited. They're creative. They're so excellent.
But first, Ray, the warmest of welcomes. And I got
to ask you a question, because I was reading the
dedication of a book recently and the author of the
(05:24):
book and the entire book, my $0.02 was it was
heresy Times ten, but I wanted to hear what was
being bought and sold in the marketplace of ideas. And
the dedication of the book was a real clear hint
to where the author was going as his primary thesis
in the book. And basically he said that the reason
he wrote the book is he wanted people to know
that God loves you, comma, italics, just the way you
(05:47):
are now, if you get on your bike and you
put your dog with the sunglasses out there, and you
head down to the beach and you start taking your
camera and talking to people, and you just walked around saying,
God loves you, comma, just the way you are. You'd
have people standing in line talking to you. What's wrong
with that statement?
S6 (06:02):
It's not biblical. You know, God's wrath abides on sinners.
He's a just and holy God, so that finds its
roots in idolatries. Idolatry is the the root cause of
all sin, it would seem, because if you fear God,
you've got a right understanding of God. The Bible says
through the fear of the Lord mean to depart from evil,
and you'll not depart from evil. Well, God is a
(06:23):
great big Santa Claus, celestial Santa Claus, or a divine butler,
or someone that's just smiling at what Hitler did, smiling
at rapists and murderers. No, God's wrath abides on every sinner.
The Bible says that. And every time we sin, we
store up his wrath. That's going to be revealed on
the Day of Judgment. That's a fearful thing. Jesus said, well,
the Bible says it's a fearful thing to fall into
(06:45):
the hands of the living God. Um, I think you've
seen a little video that we put out recently, a
young man came up to me and it's left a
lot of people in tears. But he he, um, he
had no desire for God whatsoever. And what the Lord
did was to put salt on his tongue. I took
him through the commandments and just created a thirst for righteousness.
And I looked back on my own conversion. I had
(07:08):
no desire for the things of God. I was enjoying
the pleasures of sin for a season, uh, before I
was a Christian. But the night I read those words
of Jesus, whoever looks upon a woman to lust for
her has committed adultery already with her in his heart.
I began to say, what? What should I do to
be made right? I didn't thirst for righteousness until I
understood that I as much desire for the word righteousness
(07:31):
as a four year old boy has for the word bath.
I just wasn't interested in righteousness. And yet what the
Lord did, is it put salt on my tongue, made
me hunger and thirst for righteousness, and how can I
be made right with God? That's what made the cross
make sense. So if you run around telling people God
loves them just as they are. They're going to continue
in sin until they face a holy God on the
(07:52):
Day of judgment. One thing I love doing with our videos,
and I mustn't overdo it, is I like sticking in
lightning and rolling thunder at the most unexpected places, so
it scares the living daylights out of people that are watching.
And I often see the comments that gave me a
terrible fright. But it's good to be reminded that God
created thunder and he created lightning, and we're not even
(08:14):
seeing it as a as a token of his anger.
It's just nature that he put into into place. And
I've been in a roll of thunder when I was
in Reno many years ago, and it scared the living
daylights out of me. It was so loud. It was
one of those thunder, thunder claps and it claps you
around your ear hole. And that's what we need. A
little bit of fear of God in our hearts, because
the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and saying,
(08:35):
God loves you and he loves you just as you are,
doesn't put the fear of God in anyone. It makes
them comfortable in their sins.
S1 (08:42):
So much there. Let me unpack a little bit. You know,
we're told that righteousness exalts a nation. And as I
look around, particularly my vantage point here in Washington DC,
righteousness is the last thing on the majority of people's
radar screen right now. In fact, if anything, it's not righteousness,
it's licentiousness. It's doing whatever's right in your own eyes.
I'm not bound by the rules. That's your truth. That's
not my truth. I am going to act like a
(09:04):
god because I'm going to create my own moral grid.
So when you talk to people and the videos, this
is a moot question. If you watch the YouTube channel
for Living Waters, because time after time after time, Ray
exemplifies exactly how to do this. Watch this one where
this young man, who was actually praying for a sign
that day, meets up with Ray and asks the Lord
into his heart. It's a powerfully moving person to person
(09:26):
contact with Jesus. But it was that that standard of
righteousness question that really helped this man realize that he
needed Jesus. So my question to you, Ray, after the
break is how does that impact your sharing the gospel
when all around us, the whole concept of righteousness seems
arcane and the antithesis of the exaltation of self. How
does that work when you're sharing the gospel? I'm asking
(09:47):
because when we talk to people then and they reject
an idea of righteousness, how do we handle that? More
with Ray comfort. In fact, we're just getting started a
whole lot more with Ray right after this. In today's world,
people are more confused than ever about truth and meaning.
(10:07):
That's why I've chosen Why Jesus by Ray comfort is
this month's truth tool. Discover why Jesus is the only
path to everlasting life, and learn how to confidently share
that hope with others. As for your copy of Why Jesus,
when you give a gift of any amount to in
the market, call eight 7758, that's eight 7758 or go
to in the market with Janet parshall.org. Always a joy
(10:29):
to spend time with. Ray comfort, founder CEO of Living Waters.
Someone who loves Jesus and just cannot keep the good
news to himself. And thank God for that. By the way,
we referenced one of his videos. Let me make this
easy for you. If you just go to youtube.com, Dotcom
put in living waters and a whole bunch of videos
will come up right away, including the one we just
talked about because it's fresh. Just posted. Can I give
(10:50):
you a hug here? Is this sincere, hurting young man
who in the 11 minutes and 44 seconds we're allowed
to be an unseen visitor in this conversation, turns his
life over to Christ. And you see how Ray is
just gentle and loving, doesn't deviate from that standard of righteousness.
And as it turns out, that's exactly what that young
man needed to hear. So this goes to the question
(11:12):
I asked just before the break, because I think some
people retreat on your approach, Ray, because they're afraid. In
this culture you can't talk about righteousness. Everything is about
exaltation of self. Righteousness requires some submission there to a
higher authority, to a moral grid that's bigger and greater
than you are. And we live in a culture right
now that basically says you're your own truth and you're
your own gods. So when you're interacting with people, do
(11:35):
you ever get pushback on this idea of righteousness? Or
maybe you don't even use the word.
S6 (11:39):
No, I don't I don't get pushback usually. I'll probably
get probably get murdered this Saturday, but my guys have
got a film that they've been told to film it
if that happens. Um, because that'll go viral. Um, righteousness. Yeah.
It's a word that's foreign to unsaved people in the
secular world. Haven't got a clue what it is. So
I don't start with righteousness. I've got an agenda. My
(12:01):
agenda is this I see in my mind this is
a person who is asleep in bed and their house
is on fire. That didn't even smell the smoke. They're
just quite happy to be in a house that's on fire,
and they don't realise they're in great danger. So what
I've got to do is not only awaken them, but
cause them to be alarmed. I don't want them to
lie in bed and say, yep, you've convinced me my
(12:22):
house is on fire. Thanks a lot. And they just
roll over and snooze off. No, you want them to
be alarmed so they run out of the house. And
so often I'll say to someone, do you realize you're
in great danger? Because I believe you are. Are you
in great danger? I say, no, I'm not. So what's
going to happen to you when you stand before God?
Are you a good person? They say, yeah, I'm a
very good person and that's biblical. Bible says most every
(12:44):
man will proclaim his own goodness. They go about to
establish their own righteousness, being ignorant of the righteousness which
is of God. And so, well, let's see how you're
going to do on Judgment Day. We're going to go
to the Ten Commandments. Are you familiar with those? And
they say, yeah, sure. Can you name any. Yeah. You
shall not steal, shall not lie. So have you broken those. Yeah.
So you're a lying thief. Well, I wouldn't say that.
(13:04):
I say I would because you just told me you
lied and stolen. Ever use God's name in vain and
say I do it all the time? People don't realize
what they're doing. They're taking the holy name of God,
God's holy name, and using it in place of a
filthy word to express disgust called blasphemy. And then the
the one that got me. Jesus said, if you look
(13:24):
with lust, you commit adultery in the heart. And so
what that does is that that kicks the conscience into action.
The conscience is seared. Uh, the Bible says that their
conscience is seared, as with a hot iron. I remember
seeing a chef in Hawaii many years ago with a steak.
And he says, look at this. This is I'm just
going to seal this. And I watched very closely, and
(13:45):
he just turned it over and said it on the outside,
both sides. So it looked softly cooked, but on the
inside it was still soft and tender. And that's what
the sin is. Conscience is like, it's seared, it's still
got life in there, but it's not evident. And what
you've got to do is take the sharp blade of
God's law and cut into that conscience, because they know
intuitively it's wrong to lie and steal and blaspheme and
(14:06):
lust and fornicate and commit adultery. The work of the
law is written on their heart, the conscience bearing witness.
The word conscience means with knowledge. And so that's the
that's the ally right in the heart of the enemy
that's going to agree with the commandments. And what it
does is it condemns the sinner. That's its purpose. Paul said,
the commandment commandment, which I thought was ordained to life,
(14:29):
brought death to me. He was looking to the commandments
to be his friend on Judgment Day, not as enemy.
But that's the revelation that he had, because they reveal
what we are. In truth, they show us we're sinners
and that prepares our heart for Grace and Jenna. If
anything I could point to as opening the eyes with
God's help of a lost person. It's, uh, Romans 623.
(14:51):
The wages of sin is death. I spoke to a
young lady about two hours ago in local college. I said,
do you know what the Bible says causes death? She said, no.
I said, there's wages. God is paying you in death
for your sins. And then I explained it. I said,
it's like a judge looks at a criminal who thinks
he's a good person, but the judge knows he's committed murder.
(15:11):
So he says, I'm going to show you how serious
your crime is. I'm giving you the death sentence. This
is your wages. This is what you've earned. And I
said to this young lady, I says, sin is so
serious to a holy God. He's given you the death sentence.
You're on death row. You're in a nice holding cell
with a nice blue roof, good air conditioning, good lighting.
But this life is a holding cell, and your death
(15:32):
will be evidence to you that God is deadly serious
about sin. That is an eye opener. You see, the
eyes widen because sin, as far as they're concerned, is
something you play with. It's like a little puppy. It's
not like a ferocious tiger, but once they see it,
it's the killer. It's the death always goes hand in
hand with, uh, with sin. The wages of sin is death. Uh,
(15:54):
lust brings forth sin, and sin when it's conceived, brings
forth death. The soul that sins, it shall die. And
so once they see that that what their enemy is,
they begin to smell the smoke, see their danger. And
that's when they begin to be alarmed. And that's when
the gospel comes in, which says, you can run out
of the house now and God will forgive you at
an instant you'll be saved from the fires of hell
(16:14):
if you repent and trust in Jesus. And suddenly the
gospel makes sense because the Bible says the preaching of
the cross is foolishness to those that perish. It's not
just a foolish sounding message, it's foolish to a proud person.
The Bible says God resists the proud, gives grace to
the humble. And I see people just like water off
a duck's back. They resist those commandments, and I think
(16:37):
they're not going to. They're not going to understand the gospel.
And when I get to the gospel, they just haven't
got a clue what I'm talking about. Because a man
who doesn't think he's broken the law won't be impressed
that someone paid a fine for him wouldn't make sense
to him, because he thinks he's a good person who
hasn't broken the law. When someone's humble of heart and says, oh,
I've broken those commandments, I've done things that are morally wrong,
I have drunk iniquity like water. Suddenly the good news
(17:00):
of the fine being paid makes sense. And they embrace.
They embrace the gospel. And it's just so wonderful to see.
S1 (17:05):
Wow. Ray just did a magnificent job explaining exactly what
his approach is. And you can see this in action
by going to his YouTube channel. Millions and millions of
people go there. Just go to YouTube, type in the
word living waters and subscribe. It's right there on mine.
I look at these videos every single day. I want
you to do that as well. There are tutorials they
teach me, and this idea of I'm going to pull
(17:27):
back because I don't want to offend anybody. Well, sin
is an offense. It's deadly. And there was a price
to be paid. Christ paid it. Why would you need
a Savior if you don't realize that you're a sinner?
Just follow suit. Doesn't. I want to talk about some
more things with Ray. There's always great stuff to talk
about with him. We'll continue right after this. What a
(17:55):
joy to spend time with Ray comfort. He's so, so
exemplary in the way in which he shares the gospel.
And I hope just puts fire in your bones about
doing exactly the same thing. I don't know when Jesus
is coming, but I do know he's not willing that
any should perish, and he gives us the privilege of
being able to share that good news. How come we're
not showing up for work? So I love it when
Ray comes because he gives us a myriad of resources
(18:16):
and stories and examples of what it's like, and we're
without excuse, really, to get out there and really share
the good news. So you wrote something called The Blue
Book on evangelism, and I want to take one section
of that book and talk about it. But first, just
the general overview. I love the title. What was your
purpose in putting this book together?
S6 (18:32):
Well, we have an academy, um, every six months or so,
maybe every year. I don't know, I'm the CEO. I
haven't got a clue. Uh, it's called the Ambassador Academy,
where people from all around the world come and spend
three days with us and learn how to open air. Preach.
And we go to Hollywood and places like that so
they can share their faith. We have a minimum amount
of teaching, I think, for half a day or something
(18:54):
like that. They visit our studios, visit the ministry, and
we all say hi, and then out they go and
it's life changing. We've had, I think, 27 academies. And
so this is the official book that we use for
the Ambassadors Academy. It's the Ambassadors Guide, and it's filled
with questions that people have asked about evangelism. And I
answer them.
S1 (19:14):
Wow. Well, one of the just marvelous. I didn't know
about that program. Every time I talk to you, I
learn about another aspect of the ministry. That's so awesome.
S6 (19:20):
I learn something else too. This is the first. I've
never done this before. My dog is in the studio
with me. Oh.
S1 (19:29):
The question is, are the sunglasses on or off?
S6 (19:32):
No, they're off because it's quite dark in here. But
she's behaving herself. I'm very impressed.
S1 (19:38):
I am too. But if we hear something in the background,
it's not the hounds of hell. So we shouldn't be scared.
S6 (19:42):
Okay, good. Yeah, right.
S1 (19:43):
I'm glad. Okay, good. In this book, one of the
things that you did, because this is adapted right out
of the Blue book on evangelism, and now we know
how it's tied back to the Academy. You really tackle
what I think is a huge subject. And, oh, it's
so hard for so many people. And that is how
do you go about sharing the gospel with family members
who do not yet believe a thank you for including
(20:04):
that question? And b why is that such a hard
question for people?
S6 (20:08):
Well, it's an easy one to answer. I've got a
sister who's not a Christian, and I'd rather witness to
a thousand machete wielding atheists than speak to her about
the things of God. Um, and it's not because she's
a monster. It's because of, I have said, a thousand atheists.
So what? They already don't like me anyway. But if
(20:28):
I upset my sister, I've lost my relationship with her.
So I've got to be very, very careful. And so
Zacchaeus has become a Goliath as far as I'm concerned
with her recently. I don't know what we were talking
about going on cruise ships, and I said something. I'd
like to go on a cruise ship. No, I wouldn't,
and she said, you just lied because I changed my mind.
(20:49):
And she said, you lied. And I thought, oh, boy,
if was a non-Christian, I'd just tear into them and say,
you know, get the log out of your own eye.
Try and pick a speck out of mine. Who do
you think you are? But it was my sister, and
I just had to grin and bear, and my wife
was listening to the conversation because it was on speaker,
and she just thought, what is going on here? So yeah,
(21:09):
with family, you just win them with love. You've got
to you buy them presents when it's not Christmas, send
them gifts when it's not their birthday. Um, go in
and mow the lawn where they want it mowed or not.
Just do good things for them. Uh, because, uh, by
the by the will of God, by by your well-doing
you put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, Scripture says.
And so just be rich in good works and let
(21:31):
them see your faith rather than hear your faith. Because
when I was a brand new Christian man, I blew it.
I was like a bull in a China shop. I'm
not exaggerating. I, I waited for two weeks before I
unloaded on my mom and dad. That was a long
time for me because they were in their sins and
they die. They go to hell and I love them.
And and so I said, mom, I want to talk
with you. And we went to the bedroom, sat down.
(21:52):
I gave her about an hour. And then same with
my dad. I think I got decisions from them, which
was ridiculous. I didn't understand that salvation is of the Lord.
I thought you could just manipulate someone to get right
with God and you just can't. And that caused a
lot of damage. It took years for that to be, uh,
be healed because of my zeal without knowledge. And so
when you have the knowledge that salvation of the Lord
(22:13):
is of the Lord, that no man comes to the
father unless no man comes to the son, unless the
father draws him, you know that you've got to pray
for them. Look for opportunities to share the gospel. In
the meantime, uh, be rich in good works and let
your good works show your faith.
S1 (22:26):
Well, you talk about dealing with the concerns in your
prayer closet, and I love the part about the gifts,
but I love the idea that you really do take
this to the Lord. I mean, when you think about it,
we've got a pretty good example in Jesus. His brothers
and sisters rejected him, right? They kind of thought he
was out of his mind. So if they're going to
do that to the Savior himself, you're in pretty good company.
But you saturate this in prayer. You then do the
(22:48):
action so they can see the transformation. But you bring
up something else in this particular part of the book.
S6 (22:53):
Before you bring that up, I'd like to bring something
up that I found interesting because I think about it
a lot. John 17. We have the prayer of Jesus, Jesus,
which is very long. Um, who was there? Who was
there writing with shorthand? Yes.
S1 (23:06):
I thought that so many times.
S6 (23:08):
Yeah. We've got the details of everything you said in
that long prayer. And, you know, disciples. I mean, slow down, Jesus,
I didn't could you say that again? I missed it,
I'm writing. I'm writing on a sand script or whatever
they used in those days. Um, but it just shows
the inspiration of Scripture that God let us have an
ear into what Jesus was praying. The intimate prayer with
(23:28):
his father.
S1 (23:30):
Oh, that's so interesting. You bring that up. Because, Ray,
first of all, I love that passage because there's so
many things that John writes about in that, in this
private conversation between the son and his father. And I've
often said that God didn't have to give us permission
to step into the privacy of that moment and hear
this communication between the father and the son. But am
I so glad he did? Because in that prayer, there's
(23:52):
so much he says. First of all, he's praying for me.
He's on his way to Calvary, and he's praying for me.
That's overwhelming. Second of all, he says, I don't want
to take him out of the world. I want you
to sanctify them with thy word. Thy word is truth.
Underscores the power and the authority of scriptures. And not
only that, but going out and telling us exactly what's
reiterated again in John 17. Because you're not supposed to
(24:14):
keep this good news to yourself. My prayer is not
that you keep them out of the world. You got
to go into the world to tell somebody about Jesus.
I want to continue with this conversation about how we
share the good news with our family members. Gulp. I
know it's tough and then so many other things I
want to talk about the Pacific Rim trip that's coming
up too. And I also want to talk this this
wonderful new booklet about how you deal with ten of
the biggest objections to Christianity. A ton of stuff from
(24:36):
Living Waters. I got a whole hour of race time
and I feel like I barely scratched the surface. So
you check it out at Living waters.com back after this.
Anyone can read the news every day on in the market.
We're committed to telling the news as seen through the
(24:58):
lens of Scripture. As Christians, we must be informed about
what's going on in the world and respond appropriately. When
you become a partial partner, you ensure that we continue
here on your station, equipping the church to discuss current events,
using the Bible as our solid foundation. Why not become
a partial partner today? Call 877 Janet 58 or go
online to in the market with Janet Parshall. We're visiting
(25:20):
with Ray comfort, who's the founder and CEO of Living
Waters and the best selling author of dozens and dozens
and dozens of books, including How to Know God Exists
and The Evidence Bible. Let me say again, if you
don't have an evidence Bible, you really, really should. It
is a treasured part of your legacy library. He co-hosts
the award winning TV program way of the master. It's
on every country in the world. He's an executive producer
(25:41):
of films like 180, evolution versus God, audacity, the list
goes on and on and on. And he teaches us
how to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. You want
to know how that's done? Just go to YouTube, subscribe
to Living Waters, become one of the multiple millions of
people I am one to watch these videos, to learn
how to be bold and effective in sharing the good
(26:01):
news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So we're talking
about this Blue book of evangelism. By the way. I
have a link on that. If you're interested in getting
a copy, go to the information page, click on through
and you can get a copy of this as well.
But we were talking about one section that was in
this book about how you share the good news with
your family, some of the toughest stuff out there. And
as we noted earlier, we're in good company. It was
tough for Jesus and his family, too. And so one
(26:23):
of the things that was raised, and I'm not surprised, Ray,
and you hinted at this in the reaction with your sister,
is that a lot of family members who know us,
they know the good, the bad and the ugly. Okay.
They were there. They saw us. They know everything about us.
And so it's real easy to say, you say one thing,
you live another way. And there's the issue of being hypocritical.
How do we tackle that?
S6 (26:42):
Yeah. You don't want any hypocrisy in life. I don't
care what people call me. Stumpy, ugly, whatever. Um, just
don't call me a hypocrite because I don't like being
called a hypocrite. I want people to say I disagree
with him, but he's genuine in what he believes. I'd
hate to be thought of as a hypocrite. And nothing
destroys a testimony like just a tiny bit of hypocrisy.
(27:03):
Just sit down with your family and watch a dirty
movie that's going to destroy your testimony, or let out
a word that you shouldn't, shouldn't say as a Christian,
that's going to destroy your testimony. So you have to
be strive to be perfect. You're not perfect, but you're
going to strive to be blameless. And, uh, and so
you have to have a very sensitive conscience and, and,
and realize that, you know, my sisters mentioned in the
(27:26):
book of Psalms. Oh, really? A lot of people are. Yeah.
It's I can't remember where the psalm is, but it
says and they say, aha, aha, it's isn't Psalms. And
that's exactly what they say. Um, you know, you're supposed
to be a Christian. Look at that. You're wearing you're
wearing shoes that are just too fancy for you. Who
(27:46):
do you think you are?
S1 (27:49):
But I bet Jesus heard the same thing. Who do
you think you are? I mean, I bet that was
a cover. We don't know. And I'm certainly not going
to do bad sloppy eisegesis here. But it seems to
me that when you think that your brother is out
of his mind, you grew up with him, you're certainly
not going to suddenly look at him as the Savior
of the world. And obviously that changes. James goes on
and heads the church at Jerusalem, loses his life for
the cause of the cross. But I bet it was.
(28:11):
Are you kidding? Except that the problem would have been
Jesus would have been a perfect child, so they really
wouldn't have had a lot of things to go after
him about.
S6 (28:18):
Absolutely. You know, one thing can really help is an accent.
Go to another country and they think you're intelligent. That's
what I did.
S1 (28:28):
That's fabulous. All right, one last thing. Talk to me
about the person who says we put the fun in dysfunctional.
They're not talking to me. I'm trying to communicate. They're
not responding to my emails. They won't take my call.
And yet, like you and your mom and dad and, boy,
there isn't a one of us who I don't think
at the beginning of our walk with the Lord didn't
hit the bull in the China shop part. You just
you can't keep that good news to yourself. And then
(28:49):
if you love people, you especially want your loved ones
to make sure that they're never going to be absent
from God for all of eternity. So I get the
urgency there. But again, sometimes our emotions precedes our judgment
on that. So if you're cut off, if there really
isn't a good way to communicate. I love the encouraging
advice that you give in the blueprint, The Blue Book
of Evangelism, because you say there's still things we can do.
(29:09):
Talk to me about that.
S6 (29:11):
Yeah, I, I love sending people that don't like me
a gift basket. And I've seen a lot of gift baskets.
Harry and David, I actually this. You want to hear
a disaster? Here's a disaster. It's the worst disaster I've experienced.
I went to we were going to do one of
our movies. I'm not sure what it was. Oh, the
(29:31):
fool us. And we showed it at the Ark. And
I found out that in Kentucky, at that same date
for the premiere, there was an atheist convention. So I
got ten fruit baskets delivered to them from me, inviting
them to the premiere. And Harry and David delivered them
the day after the convention ended.
S1 (29:53):
Oh, no.
S6 (29:55):
Yes.
S1 (29:58):
So the hotel staff had a great time, didn't they?
S6 (30:00):
Yes I did. I think they must have. Oh, it
was uh it was, I was very, very sad. But
I've learned Romans 828, all things work together for good,
even fruit baskets that arrive a day late.
S1 (30:13):
Exactly, exactly. But yeah, you you talk about the fact
that we have to stop and step back and understand
that this is the work of the Holy Spirit. And
when we really get into the power of prayer and
intercessory prayer, even if I can't talk to a loved one,
you know, I've thought to myself how precious it is
that I have been given permission to enter the throne
(30:33):
room of grace, and nothing, and no one can keep
me out of that prayer, that conversation with my Heavenly Father.
So even if I can't talk to an earthly relative,
I can certainly talk to my Heavenly Father and ask
him for intercession. And that's that's an encouragement. We you know,
we are not responsible for anybody's salvation. We can even
plant the seed water or you're there for the harvest.
(30:53):
But the bottom line is, isn't it wonderful that we
have no restraints? Even if a family member won't talk
to us, we can still pray for them and they
can't stop it.
S6 (31:01):
Hit them in the prayer closet. That's what I like doing. Um.
S1 (31:06):
I'm sure that's in first Maccabees one nine. I just
haven't found it yet.
S6 (31:10):
That's it. Yes, but you've got to put yourself in
their position. You've got to put yourself in their position.
Imagine if you were in their shoes and they had
become a religious person, and they want to share with
you their cultish beliefs. Right? That's that's how they're kind
of feeling. And so that gives me an empathy and
understanding of why they're like they are with their arm
stretched out a bit. You know, just let's talk about
(31:31):
other things and not that. But there's the the wonderful
question that I just keep telling people about. Just ask anyone,
you can even do this with Uncle Arthur at the
Christmas table. Um, do you think there's an afterlife? You
don't mention God, Jesus, heaven, hell, the Bible, sin, righteousness
and judgment. Just ask for his opinion. Do you think
there's an afterlife? And that can provoke a wonderful conversation
(31:54):
that can steer towards the things of God. Um. Do
you think there's an afterlife? Uncle Arthur, what do you think? No,
I don't think so. You don't think there's heaven and hell?
Do you believe in God? Do you ever read the Bible?
It says there's a heaven and hell. Do you believe that?
And as you know, the Old Testament, God promised he
would destroy death in the New Testament, tells us how
he did it. Did you know that all you're doing
is asking questions and it can provoke thought and say, look,
(32:17):
thanks for listening to me. I really appreciate it. And
I often do that. Really thank people from my heart
for listening to me, because it's a privilege to share
the gospel with someone and for someone to give you
their ear, give you their time, and you're talking about
the thing that matters most. And that's what I often
say to people say, you know, no one talks about
their fear of death. So we're going to talk about
that which matters most. You know, what's going to happen
(32:39):
to you when you die. And they're all thinking about it.
It's a horror beyond words. And so to bring it
out into the open is a wonderful healing for them.
S1 (32:46):
Yeah. And also, you just exemplified the fact that asking
questions is non-controversial. It's non-confrontational, and it's a wonderful way
of dialoguing without someone thinking you're talking at them rather
than talking with them. And I think so often as believers, we're,
we're so and I understand that in most cases, I
think it comes from a good place. But just listen first, right?
(33:07):
I mean, if we use Jesus again as our example,
how did he know exactly the right thing to say
to a farmer or a fisherman or a woman caught
in the act of adultery? He was aware and listening
to what was happening before he gave the response. I
know he's God incarnate, but there's a takeaway on how
to effectively engage people, it seems to me.
S6 (33:24):
Yeah, and he's given us his Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit gives us wisdom and leads us into all truth,
gives us understanding. And so that's my great hope. I
often when I get onto my bike with my dog
wearing sunglasses, sunglasses are on the dog, not the bike.
And that's not a bad idea.
S1 (33:44):
That we get even more people talking to you, I'm sure.
S6 (33:47):
Yes. Yeah. So I'm just saying, Lord, if this is
a waste of time, if you don't help me, and
I often say, I don't know if you've seen the
video of Mario, a guy that I spoke to that
just broke down in tears and said, I think 5
million views or something like that. I often say to
the Lord, as I get on the bike, give me
a Mario, give me a Mario. Someone whose heart you're prepared,
somebody who's got a humble heart and who will embrace
(34:09):
the gospel. Please give that to me, because I know
what it's going to do is multiply that gospel message
and get to the ears of literally millions. So that's
my earnest prayer.
S1 (34:18):
Wow. That's amazing. Talk to me. And there's so much
you want to ask you, but I want to do
a quick segue here and ask you to tell me
about the Pacific Rim trip now, in case people haven't
picked up on the accent. All right. You're from New Zealand,
and so the Pacific Rim is in that area. So
it's more than just going back to your homeland. What's
going on?
S6 (34:38):
Yeah, well, um, we've actually done the trip. It's been done.
It's been filmed, and it's in production at the moment. Yeah,
it's very exciting. I've seen I've seen a lot of
the footage, and what I actually did is I sent
the guys, I didn't go. I stayed in California. I
roughed it at home.
S1 (34:57):
With your dog and the bike with the sunglasses. It
all worked out. I got it, okay.
S6 (35:01):
And what they did is they fed that in, and
they said, while we're in, you know, Fiji and Tahiti
and Samoa raised back in California, and they just fed
in witnessing clips into the footage, which is just great.
But they went to Australia where they talk funny in
Australia and, and they, they went to Sydney, I think,
in Melbourne and preached on the streets there and witnessed
(35:21):
two people. Australia is pretty hard, uh, spiritually it's not
like America. Same with New Zealand, a pretty secular. But
they trace my steps. They went back to where I
open air, preached almost every day for 12 years. Uh,
and I crossed swords with a guy called the Wizard,
a guy who dressed like a wizard. And he was
a friendly enemy. He let me preach off his ladder
often to his crowd, and he had crowds like 3
(35:43):
or 400. It was just wonderful. So they went back
and spoke to him. He's like 115 now. We're not
quite I think he's in his late 80s. Uh, but
they had a wonderful we gave him an evidence Bible
signed by me because we haven't seen each other for
about 35 years. And he it was just very moving.
And then they traced the steps back to where I, um,
where a portion of a sermon by Charles Spurgeon, sparked
(36:05):
my understanding of what Jesus did when he opened up
the commandments, and they went back to where I actually
found that. So it's very interesting. And then they went
to Tahiti and Fiji and Samoa and Hawaii and, uh,
it's very exciting. It's the wow.
S1 (36:19):
When we come back, I want to. Well, that's exactly right. And,
you know, it's the whole truth of the whole gospel
to the whole world, including the Pacific Rim. A couple
of questions, because I want to ask you where we
can find that video. I've seen it, so I know
it's available of you taking that ladder from the Wizard
and the friendship that developed there. So I want to
know how people can still see that. And then when
(36:40):
are we going to be able to see this completed trip?
Because it's going to be fantastic. Ray, comfort is with us.
Don't forget, we got a lot of information on our
information page back after this. We're spending the hour with
Ray comfort, who's the founder and CEO of Living Waters,
the author of so many books, great YouTube channel, the
list goes on and on and on. Just go to
(37:00):
Living waters. Com. And there's just so many excellent resources
out there. Two that I have featured is one, the
Blue Book on evangelism. It was explaining earlier this is
part of their academy, and it really does break down
how to share the gospel and answers lots of tough questions.
I just pulled a couple that was how do you
share the gospel with your family members? And then another
new booklet that he's got out is called Nutshell Answers
(37:21):
The Top ten Objections to Christianity. I'm going to touch
on that in a bit, but I left two hanging participles.
One is I love the story about the relationship you
have with, quote, the Wizard and how he really turned
around and said, okay, I've got this audience now you
get to share the gospel with them. And there was
a friendship that ensued. As a result of that, I
got to see that video. I don't know how in
the world I did. Is it still available for people
(37:42):
to see?
S6 (37:43):
Yeah, it's called The Full Effect and it's about me.
I'm the Fool, and it's a very compelling story. And
it starts off with a wizard where it all started,
and you see him in his prime on his ladder.
And it was the day I left to come to
live in the US, and it's a very moving moment.
S1 (38:02):
Yeah, absolutely. And yet you still left an indelible mark
because he took that Bible and he remembered you. And
how precious is that? You know, again, God is not
willing that any should perish. Let's hope he comes to
read that book and know the Lord is his personal
Savior before he steps into eternity. The other part is,
this series looks absolutely fabulous. I mean, you don't stop
and think unless you're a missionary and that's where your
(38:24):
heart or your mission serves. You're not thinking about Fiji
and Tahiti and all of these other areas, and yet
it's still the gospel of Jesus Christ. So when you
put this all together, because I can't wait to see it.
S6 (38:35):
You can see it now on living TV, TV. Living
waters TV. It's all there, ready to go. And all
the other episodes that we've got 165 episodes, uh, on
that same platform.
S1 (38:50):
And that is a new. That's a relatively new platform,
isn't it? Right.
S6 (38:53):
Yes, it's brand new. Um, did you see the series
that went to Europe and preach the gospel in 13
countries in 13 days. That was a wonderful time, and
I think I might have told you before that the
whole idea, my idea was they would eat healthy and
get plenty of sleep. And after three days we were
eating fast food and no one had been to sleep.
It was just. It was crazy.
S1 (39:15):
Wow. But it's exhilarating, isn't it? To be able to
share and to see the different response. And it doesn't
make any difference whether you live in Paris or whether
you live in Fiji. It's still the same God shaped
void in the human heart. It's still the same Savior.
It's still the same gospel message. And that, to me,
always just underscores the power and the authority of the Scripture.
There isn't a European version and a Pacific Rim version.
(39:36):
It's one message of salvation and one. Well, like the
Bible tells us, one faith, one baptism, right? I mean,
it's the same wherever you go, which I think is fabulous.
You touched quickly on the climate, and I'm fascinated by this,
that it's kind of hard spiritually for New Zealand and Australia.
Why do you think that is?
S6 (39:54):
I'm not sure. America. I remember when I first came
over here, there were 1350 Christian radio stations, and there
was New Zealand had one Christian radio station. It took
13 years to get a licence. Australia didn't have any
because that's just a land of criminals and Ken Ham.
And so they're very hard and secular.
S1 (40:14):
Less people saw that slip in. Exactly. Okay, good.
S6 (40:19):
We text each other every day. Have done for years.
Most texts we've ever done with each other is 220
in 1 day. All of them are insults from him
saying how ugly I am because he can't. He can't
show love. He's Australian, so he does it in insults.
S1 (40:35):
But I got to tell you what. Speaking of him,
this is a diversion, but I'm glad we're taking it.
You posted two days ago that the media was lying
about Ken Ham's arc. Talk to me about this. I
thought this was fascinating.
S6 (40:48):
Yes. The Associated Press did a little video on the arc.
It hasn't had that many views. No wonder. And they
just filmed nobody there. And it was just crazy. They
filmed the big, big boat and no one standing around it.
Then they two people going through the museum. And so
I said, they're just not being truthful here. And so
I got footage of hundreds or even thousands lining up
(41:11):
to see that arc. And I've been to the Smithsonian
Institute and in DC, I think it is, and it's
nothing compared to the arc. The arc is so classily done.
I'm just surprised Ken had anything to do with it.
S1 (41:24):
Well, there's slipped by again, but you got to pay
attention here. Well, you know, what's interesting is a couple
of stories. Number one, remember last week they talked again
about they think this might be the remains of a boat,
and it's on a mountain in Turkey. And that kind
of resurfaces on a regular basis. And the other thing, too,
is it's the anniversary of the infamous scopes trial. So
(41:45):
I'm thinking, okay, in the newsroom, that was the angle
they were going to take. So I don't know, let's
go to those crazy creationists. And so we'll talk about
what's going on at the Ark. And yet as you say,
it draws people from around the world. And so you
put together a wonderful video supporting him and pointing out
the fact that there was such a surprise. We repeat ourselves,
such dishonesty in the secular press reporting about the popularity
(42:08):
of this.
S6 (42:09):
Absolutely. And if you want to upset Ken Ham, call
it a boat, I always do. It's not a boat,
I says. I like your boat, Ken. It's got New
Zealand wood in it, hasn't it? Because they use New
Zealand wood for the ark so you can't get past that.
S1 (42:23):
Oh dear. And he'll never be able to claim Australian wood. Right.
There you go.
S6 (42:26):
That's right. Amazing.
S1 (42:28):
Let me touch quickly. Let me touch quickly on the
booklet which is wonderful. Nutshell answers. And it's the top
ten objections to Christianity. You can get a copy by
clicking on through and finding out how you can purchase
some of these and do it. And they're wonderful gospel tracts,
by the way. Part of Ken's bio and I should
read this every time is always. He's never left his
house without a gospel track in decades.
S6 (42:51):
And did you say Ken's bio?
S1 (42:53):
Did I say.
S6 (42:53):
I think you did? Okay. This interview is over.
S7 (42:57):
It's now over. It's finished. Exactly.
S1 (42:59):
Sorry, Ken. We'll get back to me later on that one.
S7 (43:02):
So you never leave.
S1 (43:05):
Without a track. So in this, you take a look
at 50 or 10 questions, which I think are terrific.
Let me just pull one out. And that is an
objection that says a loving God wouldn't send people to hell.
Talk to me about this.
S6 (43:17):
Yeah. Loving God. God doesn't send anyone to hell. Sin
takes them there. Same as a judge. Judge doesn't judge,
doesn't send someone to prison. His crimes send him there.
And that's what people don't understand. The judge just carries
out justice. And on Judgment Day, God will do that
which is right. And that's a fearful thing when you
realize your own guilt and your own secret sins.
S1 (43:36):
Yeah. Amen and amen. Now, that's one of ten objections.
These are marvelous gospel tracts to be able to use
and to teach yourself. Because you're going to hear these
things in the marketplace, you're going to know how to respond.
So living waters, calm living waters. waters.tv. Fabulous new streaming
platform with content that's out of this world, quite literally.
So this trip on the Pacific Rim that's now up
(43:58):
there for you to be able to watch the Blue
Book on evangelism. I've got that as a direct link
so you can find out how to get your copy
in this marvelous little booklet called Nutshell Answers the top
ten Objections to Christianity. Direct link for those but a
ton of resources at Living waters.com. And just don't forget
go to YouTube, put in the word living waters, subscribe
to the channel. And I don't know how his team
(44:19):
does this, but I'm telling you, there's fresh material there constantly.
I can't keep up, but every minute I spend watching
those is an encouragement to me. It's a tutorial for me,
and quite frankly, it puts fire in my bones to
want to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Love
you Ray. Thank you for all that you do. Love
our conversations. Thank you friend. Check out all the resources
and then ask the Lord to open the door of
opportunity and go and tell somebody the good news. Thanks friends.
(44:42):
We'll see you next time on In the Market with
Janet Parshall.
S8 (44:47):
Retractable claws up to 1.5in long, capable of jumping 36ft.
A roar that can be heard five miles away. The
lion King of the beasts. Picture yourself surrounded by several.
Like Daniel, he determined to prey, though he knew he
(45:08):
would pay. Are we willing to face the lions of
our culture? Be a Daniel. A challenge for Moody Radio.
S9 (45:18):
How long have you been a part of the Moody
Radio family?
S10 (45:20):
Well, I've been listening to Moody since 1993. And, I mean,
I get up with booty, I go to bed with Moody,
and it just. It's been a blessing in my life
for all these years. The teaching and the worship. And
Moody is a station that is really rooted in the
Word of God. In the series about who is God.
S9 (45:40):
Serious about God? That's us. And we're seriously grateful for
listeners like you.
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