Hello, everyone. Welcome to a special and extended edition of the Stop and Talk podcast. Thank you for joining me. Today marks the one year anniversary of a tragic and horrific event. It was a Christmas parade, the theme comfort and joy, a community sharing in seasonal celebration. Within moments, that community would be sharing in loss, seeking to save lives, as a car ran straight into the parade. As children danced to the music, the red SUV raced past those watching from the edge of the street. Ahead, the road was full of those taking part in the march itself. The vehicle continued through them with dreadful consequences. We have multiple casualties. We got about 10 to 15 people down in the street. Oh, my God! Oh, my God! At least five people were killed and more than 40 injured, amongst the many children. The next thing I heard were screams, and turned my head and saw the car come and plow into the band that was just past my balcony at that point. It hit at least two people right away, rolled over both of them, and then continued down the road. As the car sped on, police opened fire. I saw people right away run to the people that were hit and start doing CPR. And I saw people on the ground. There's blood. It was really bad. This is the man now in custody, Daryl Brooks, seen here in a rap video in front of the red SUV. Daryl Brooks is known to police and already faces a charge of deliberately running a woman down with his car. The suspect prior to the incident was involved in domestic disturbance. He now faces five charges of intentional homicide. Further charges relating to the injury of 48 adults and children will follow. Emma Murphy, News at 10, in the United States. Daryl Brooks would subsequently be charged with six counts of first degree murder, along with an additional 70 felony charges. Now I watched the trial closely, which means I watched a good portion of it. The trial did extend for about a month. And what I'd like to do now is I'd like to share with you some segments from that trial. And we're going to begin by a pretrial hearing. in which Daryl Brooks fires his defense team, declares himself to be a sovereign citizen, and announces to the court that he's going to defend himself. Now, if you're listening to the audio version of this podcast, the voice you're going to hear narrating this clip is a man by the name of Jesse Weber, who is with the Law and Crime Sidebar podcast. Do you wish to represent yourself in this case Yes, I do. Before, I'm sorry, go ahead. I would like to represent myself pro-her. What does that mean to you, sir? Explain to me that request. Again, because I've already said it on record, to represent myself as a sovereign citizen. I'm not gonna make a determination, sir, whether you're a sovereign citizen or not. It's not relevant to my determination how you characterize who you are. So if you are allowed to represent yourself in this case, sir, you will not have attorneys assisting you. If I let them withdraw, they're gone from this case. Do you understand that? I think I will probably be better served representing myself. And Judge Darrow did allow Brooks to represent himself. Now, he may look back on that decision and say that probably wasn't the best choice. But what was fascinating is that Brooks identifies as a sovereign citizen. This is someone who doesn't really believe that they are under the jurisdiction of the government, that they're exempt from U.S. laws, which is seemingly why he would make repeated statements about his legal name or statements that would undermine the authority of the court and the trial. Sir, did you hear me tell you about the penalties for these offenses just now? I don't understand the nature and cause of the charges. I'm not asking you that, sir. Did you hear me advise you of the penalties for hit and run resulting in death? I don't understand. Mr. Brooks, any questions for this witness? Yes, I do. For the record, I don't consent to that name. Are we going to address subject matter jurisdiction? The written decision that I previously entered is what I will stand on. I'm not going to address it any further. Is that verified proof? Can we address subject matter jurisdiction that still has to be proven for the record? I declined to do so. Ah, yes. The infamous subject matter jurisdiction argument that he made throughout the trial, even till the very end. And it's an issue that really has no basis in law because this court does in fact have the jurisdiction to handle this criminal case. But as the trial progressed, Brooks became even more argumentative and would constantly interrupt the judge to the point that he would get kicked out of court and placed in a neighboring courtroom with audio and visual tools so he could see and hear everything. But it was intense and bizarre nonetheless. Before I need to make a record that at 842 AM this court ordered Mr. Brooks be removed from the courtroom due to repeated interruptions and disruption with the court. You can see that he is seated with his back to the court or to the camera. He took his shirt off as well. I'm also told that he is threatening to throw and break items. Throughout the trial, Daryl Brooks made the assertion that he is a Christian. In fact, at his defense table, whether he was in the main courtroom or the alternate courtroom where he had to be placed on timeout basically because he couldn't behave himself, he had a large paperback Bible at his table in front of him. In fact, there was one point where The judge, when she was making a record of Daryl Brooks' behavior, referred to the Bible as a book, and he took offense at that. Take a look. All right, Mr. Brooks, do you have any position on that? I am unmuting you. I would note he takes the headphones on and off throughout. He doesn't have them on. He's looking at a book. I wish you would stop saying the book. I'm looking at the Bible. Thank you. Not just A book, it's B book. Can't disagree with you there, sir. How many people actually live by it though? Anyway. Now, did you notice in that exchange with the judge herself, a professing Christian, that when the judge acknowledged the authority of the word of God, the authority of the Bible, Daryl Brooks mocked her under his breath. This was a common event throughout this month-long trial. Daryl Brooks regularly and repeatedly and demonstrably showed disrespect for the court, disrespect for the proceedings, disrespect for the prosecution, and at times disrespect for the witnesses, including the witnesses he himself called. This, again, was an ongoing occurrence in the trial. I think the judge and the prosecution showed a great deal of patience and restraint in dealing with this very arrogant and, I think, self-deluded man. Sir, I'm contemplating putting an hour time limit on closing arguments. I do want to close the argument tomorrow. The closing arguments will most likely be tomorrow. you're going to force somebody not to be able to give a closed argument. How is that lawful? choose not to give one. Sir, if you choose not to give one, you're not letting me finish and you're mocking me right now, which is incredibly disrespectful once again. You didn't even let me give my sentence. I'll mute him once again because clearly he just wants to be disruptive this afternoon. Now remember, after seeing, after listening to some of those outbursts throughout the trial, Daryl Brooks asserted that he is, in fact, a Christian. Well, to likely no one's surprise, except for maybe Daryl Brooks, but I think in his heart of hearts, he wasn't surprised either. Brooks was found guilty on all charges. All right, I will read each one into the record. We, the jury, find the defendant, Daryl E. Brooks, guilty of first degree intentional homicide as charged in count one of the information dated this 26th day of October 2022, signed by the foreperson, juror number 11. If you find the defendant guilty of first degree intentional homicide, answer the following question, yes or no. Did the defendant commit first degree intentional homicide while using a dangerous weapon? Answer, yes. We the jury find the defendant Daryl E. Brooks guilty of first degree intentional homicide as charged in count two of the information. Did the defendant commit first degree intentional homicide while using a dangerous weapon? Answer, yes. Following the verdicts was the sentencing phase of the trial and it was during this time that victims and family members or friends of the victims were allowed to make very emotional and sometimes gut-wrenching victim impact statements. And it was during this phase as well that both sides, both the prosecution and Daryl Brooks, who was defending himself, were allowed to make sentencing recommendations. Daryl Brooks would spend almost two hours standing before the judge making his sentencing recommendations, if you can even call it that. And during that time, he once again declared himself to be a Christian. Mr. Brooks, I'll turn it over to you then. This is your opportunity to address the court. What, if anything, would you like to say, sir? I do have a lot to say. I'd like to stand up if I may. This is emotional. I apologize for taking so long. I want to start first by giving glory to God. I believe in Jesus Christ wholeheartedly. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Believe that he was sent here by the father. To die for all our sins, everybody. Everybody in this courtroom today. Everyone walking this planet. Mostly for those of us who will believe. I believe that he was crucified on the cross at Calvary. He shed his blood on that cross and he died. And he was buried. And then he rose again after three days to glory. Took his glorious place at the right hand of the father. Bible says that he was exalted, given a name that is above all names, so that the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is his glory, to the glory of God the Father. It's not just something that I was taught by my family. It's something I believe in my heart. I just want to clarify one thing. A lot of references was made to one of the things I said regarding my conscience being clear. Having the time to think about it last night and to understand that the victims have the right to feel how they want to feel. They have the right to their opinions and understanding that there's a lot of emotion, pain, frustration, anger, hatred, a lot of emotions. But I don't want that comment to be twisted. I don't want that comment to become another narrative that's ran with and taken out of context. That comment was made is because I made the decision to rededicate my life to Christ. when this tragedy happened. In no way did that comment refer to not having any remorse, not having any understanding. It was strictly made to that point that I have repented, that I have asked God for forgiveness, that I have sent many prayers up. Regardless of what a lot of people may think about me, about who I am, about my family, about my beliefs, I know who I am. God knows who I am. And I don't have any words of anger, uh, any, any, um, shots, so to speak, to throw back. As I said before, I had to look inside myself and understand why the comments was being made, why people feel the way they feel and they have the right to. After Daryl Brooks declared his faith in Jesus Christ with tears, he then turned his attention to the victims. If I may, if I may. What did you just say to turn forward, sir? I don't know that they're ready for that yet. Respect. A warrant. each and every victim in this incident, family members, those who lost loved ones, those who are still healing. I want you to know that no matter how you felt, During this this year, no matter how you felt yesterday. I want everyone to know. Also, the community of Waukesha. I want you to know that. Not only am I sorry for what happened. I'm sorry that you could not see what's truly in my heart. That you could not see the remorse that I have. That you could not listen to all the phone calls that I've made to my family. That you could not hear all the prayers that I've said in my cell. That you could not count all the tears that I've dropped in this year. The truth is hard a lot of times. I'm not very old by age standards, but I've been alive long enough to understand that a lot of people are comfortable with hearing what they want to hear, being told what they want to be told, and being okay with that. it's easy to accept what's on the surface it's easy to accept what's being put out there it's harder to pull back the veil it's harder to look deeper than the surface and regardless To the truth, I understand that there are many people that would never forgive what happened. I have to be okay with that. And I hold no ill will towards them for that. I have to be okay with the fact that people will be angry. Some for a long time, some forever. I think it was clear with respects to how I'm viewed. I will not respond to those comments in anger either. I want to also say that it is not me that can Take any pain away. Replace what was lost. Give back joy, happiness. There's so many other things that was lost that day. I think all that comes with belief in Christ. I believe that all that comes with time. It's a process. It's a process that we all have to go through. I noticed a lot of things that that I've said over the duration of this trial where there's a lot of misconception. I don't consider myself To be a man of God yet is something that I'm learning with time, with faith, with study. Lord willing, I will make it to that point at God's appointed time. Something that I'm learning. for anyone that doesn't think that i've spent time in the scriptures even before this you're mistaken passages were quoted from romans 623 in particular, the wages of sin is death, that's Romans 623. It's a verse I'm very familiar with and I've read numerous times. Countless other passages are all passages that I'm familiar with. The thing about Scripture is not only studying and reading it. It's about applying it to your life, applying it. It's not about just reading it or being able to quote it. It's about living it. One sentence. only one sentence of apology during what ended up being a two-hour rant. And even that was nothing more than, I'm sorry for what happened, immediately followed by a play for sympathy as he makes several I'm sorry statements about how the victims and the witnesses were unable to see the many prayers he prayed and to see the many tears that he shed. Brooks then showed how truly unrepentant he is when he very forcefully declared to the entire courtroom that what he did was not an intentional act. This needs to be said. What happened on November 21st, 2021 was not, not, not an attack. It was not planned, plotted. When you constantly hear that, perpetuated, constantly pushed, constantly pushed, constantly pushed, you wonder why, why? This was not an attack. This was not an intentional act. No matter how many times you say it over and over, it was not. Of course it was an intentional act. The evidence showed that. The witnesses and victims testified to that and the jury determined it. It was indeed an intentional act. Darryl Brooks intentionally drove through the parade route of the Waukesha Christmas Parade. He intentionally killed six people. He intentionally injured more than 60 others. Those facts are not in dispute. Now it was time for the judge to impose sentence and you're going to see Brooks explode yet again. The witnesses related to Ms. Patterson, we heard from Corey Runkle, we heard from Erica Patterson herself. My impression based upon Erica Patterson's testimony, who by the way, she showed grace and dignity facing you, the man who clearly has no regard for her as a mother of one of your children, as someone you had a domestic partnership with and a relationship with at one point. That's not true. We know, and I would say this goes to your character, what was shown through that altercation and going up the hill, following her, slapping her. You know, the rules don't matter to you, not the rules of the road, not the rules established by court orders, not the rules even of decorum and decency. And I'll get to this more fully when I talk about your character. And I know you went hard at Attorney Opper for her bringing these things up, but those are legitimate, lawful, sentencing considerations. And when I get to that point, I'll tell you the case law that supports that. Your character, even your pending cases. I don't need no case law. We know at the time of all of this, right, you were out on bond for two felony cases, one involving a handgun, One involving the same vehicle and Erica Patterson and one involving ultimately intimidation of Ms. Patterson. We know that you, that on November 20th, and she was very contrite about this. She told you where she was. She invited you out there and that you had contact with her on the 20th. There was some physical. Mr. Brooks, this is my time. You need to not interrupt. Mr. Brooks, the state you need to say specifically wrote you your honor and said that they know it was no incident that day. Mr. You want to sit up here? Do not interrupt me or you will be removed to the other. You want to sit up here? Stop now. And try to add something in that you know for a fact never even happened. You want to sit up here and talk about who has grace and all this. You're talking about someone with five kids that don't have custody. None of them. You need to stop right now, or you will be removed. Remove me then. All right. He will be removed. He cannot simply stay quiet when this court talks. I don't consent to being sentenced anyway. I don't consent to this, just like I told you. I don't know the other. He'll be in recess until he's removed to the other courtroom. I don't even understand the true nature and cause. Yes, Brooks again launches into one of his juvenile tirades exploding at the judge to whom he declared almost an hour before this moment that what had gone on between him and the judge for a month wasn't personal. And then Brooks declares that he doesn't consent to being sentenced and he will continue to belligerently argue with the judge. Mr. Brooks, the only way I will honor that request is if you specifically Waive your right to do so without that That's not a convenience for you over there. It's you go over there when you frankly Demand removal under Illinois versus Allen demand anything. No, you conduct it so you can sit didn't man anything either All right, mr. Brooks, please sit down. I'm going to continue with my sentencing remarks. I You keep changing the jurisdiction. Jurisdiction, it's a subject matter of jurisdiction that has yet to be proven on the record in that court and in this one. Mr. Brooks, please sit down. I would like to go back to the other courtroom. It's not a courtesy to you. If you'd like to specifically waive your right to be physically present, then I will entertain that. Otherwise, you need to sit down. I never waived a right to not be present. That's because you forfeited your right to be present by conduct. I didn't forfeit anything, Your Honor. You're now back in this courtroom. Your Honor, I wrote three. I did what you asked me to do. You never once pledged to me, sir, that you would not interrupt. And you're demonstrating by being here that you continue to interrupt. Man, I ain't trying to hear all that, because at the end of the day, I did what you asked me to do. You told me, you told the bailiff to tell me. Mr. Brooks, this is not a debate. You told the bailiff to tell me that I had to write. It's not a debate. You asked to come over here, and I honored that, and I brought you back. Well, I exercised my right three times. I shouldn't have had to do it three times. None of those opportunities that you wrote to me said, I pledge, I've never had to do that before. You've never required that before. You've never required that before. Every single time that I've been brought over there After some time, sometimes very short, sometimes an extended period of time- Mr. Brooks, you are just simply trying to delay the inevitable. Please sit down. I don't care about the inevitable. It was already ready from day one- I need to get through this hearing. What was gonna happen. It doesn't make me lose any sleep about that. I know I'm okay. I'm okay with everything. Then please sit down. I just wanna be- Brooks declares, hey, I'm okay with everything. He insists that he has obeyed the judge's orders. But it's clear that what he sees as obedience is only obeying the judge when it suits him. Only obeying the judge on his terms. In the end, Daryl Brooks believed he was the authority in that courtroom. He was the judge. In fact, over and over again throughout the trial, Daryl Brooks arrogantly tried to put the judge on trial. And it didn't work. I just want to be treated fairly which I have not been. Please sit down. And then you, Your Honor, and then you always make it seem like- This is not a debate. You always make it seem like it's some type of aim, and it's not. Please sit down. We're talking about constitutional rights. You just told me, or you told the bailiff to tell me that I had to write, to exercise a right that I should already have. I did that. Not once, not twice, three times. And it still was an honor. And then I raised this sign. I'm waving this for like 20 minutes, saying I would want to come back. I'm doing this. You're here now. Hey, can I come back? Can I come back? Can I come back? So sit down. It was an honor. So I can finish. And then I'll say, OK, I'll write this, and I'll see if Your Honor can see it on the screen, the objection sign saying, I've exercised my right to be pregnant. If you stop for a minute, I'll explain it, but you have to stop so I can explain it. You've never, I did what you asked me to do. Actually not. Yes. Let me explain if you would like. If I didn't, your honor, if I did not do what you asked me to do, then why did I, why was I allowed to come back if I did not do what you asked me to do? Because I'm frankly going to a very distinct portion of this hearing where I am going to impose sentence. Okay, that doesn't answer the question. That matters. That doesn't answer the question. Please sit down and I will explain and remain quiet without interrupting me. With all due respect. That doesn't mean you're respecting me, so please sit down. With all due respect, you told the bailiff when I first said, because every time that I've been brought over there in the past. Mr. Brunson, I don't need a history lesson of what I've done. That when I exercise my right to be present. Untrue. You've always said, we have the record. We have the record. We can dig into the record. Mr. Brooks? I know what the requirement was of me going over there. You've always stated on the record that when I exercise my right to be present, you will bring me back if I'm, if I will follow the rules of the quorum. That's your exact words, which you said every time, which you're demonstrating right now that you have absolutely no ability to do. With all due respect, I've never had to go through any type of certain words that needed to be needed to be said or stressed or anything like that before. I've always, done it the way that you've asked me to do it. No different than today. When I told the bailiff I would like to be present, you told the bailiff if he wants to be present, he has to put it in writing. And pledge to me that he will not interrupt me. I put it in writing. Without a pledge. So why am I here? Because I'm going to move on to another phase of this hearing. And I thought it important that you be here in person. So I was here. But you didn't reclaim your right to be back here. Then why am I here again, Your Honor? I am allowing it to happen. OK. And I respect that you're allowing it. But still, it doesn't answer the question, though, Your Honor. It does not answer the question. Mr. Brooks. Your Honor, as a public servant, I have the right to ask questions of your honor. I'm going to ask you one more time, and if you refuse to sit down, then you are in direct disobedience of a court order. Sit down and be quiet so I can make the appropriate record. Can you tell me what the court order is? He's not going to obey. He's now forfeited his right to be present. I didn't say I wasn't going to obey. He will go into the other courtroom. I didn't say I wasn't going to obey. We'll be in recess until he's there. I just asked what is the order. Again, having been found guilty on all charges, Daryl Brooks was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences for the six intentional murders he committed. On top of that, he was sentenced to an additional 1,200 years in prison to be served consecutive to the six life sentences. Now the judge readily admitted that much of the sentencing was symbolic. Obviously, Daryl Brooks is not going to live six lifetimes in prison and he's not going to live an additional 1,200 years after that. The man is going to die in prison. But the judge wanted to make sure that each and every victim received justice for the crimes that Daryl Brooks committed against them. Now during Daryl Brooks opportunity to address the court prior to sentencing He declared himself to be a Christian He proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ and by and large it was a biblical Proclamation of the gospel Daryl Brooks insists that he is a Christian Should any of us believe that? Now some of you might be thinking of Romans 10, 9 and 10 that tells us, in part, if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. But the word of God in James' letter also declares that the demons believe and tremble. The demons believe and shudder. The demons, Satan, knows exactly who Jesus is, knows what he came to do, knows they know what the biblical gospel is, they know what one must do to be saved. But neither Satan nor his demons are going to spend a moment in heaven simply because they give intellectual assent to that truth. Satan, the father of lies, knows what the truth is, but simply knowing that truth will not save him. There are many people in the world today, maybe even someone watching or listening to this podcast, who would declare as Daryl Brooks did that he or she is a Christian. that they believe in Jesus Christ, that they believe that God the Father sent His Son to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man and without sin, that He lived a perfect life from cradle to grave, that He died an innocent death on the cross, that three days later, after being buried, He rose from the grave. Forty days after that, He ascended unto heaven, where He sits at the right hand of the Father, the right hand of power. They would say that they believe that, but their lives, the way they live their lives. In fact, Daryl Brooke, you probably heard it in one of the segments, Daryl Brooke said that, hey, it's not enough simply to believe this book, that people actually live by it, that you need to live by it. Do you believe Daryl Brooks lived by it? Do you believe that Daryl Brooks obeyed the word of God or obeys the word of God? Jesus said, If you love me, you will keep my commands. The word of God makes clear that whoever does not believe in the Son, the wrath of God abides in them. But those who obey the Son will receive eternal life. Are you a professor of faith in Jesus Christ, but yet your heart is far from Him? Jesus said that many people will praise Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. Daryl Brooks repeatedly praised Jesus with his lips, but how he behaved in that courtroom was every indication that his heart is far from Christ. Oh, and let's not forget that Daryl Brooks, while believing himself to be a Christian intentionally ran over six people killing them and Then with that same car Injured some gravely some very critically some whose lives will never be the same more than 60 other people and He never showed any Remorse. Oh, he shed. He shed some tears. He did shed some tears, didn't he? And he did say he was sorry for what happened, didn't he? But that amounted to nothing more than a worldly sorrow, not true repentance, not a turning from his sin and turning toward God by faith with a broken and contrite heart, but a worldly sorrow because of the consequences he was facing. Daryl Brooks, in his two-hour pre-sentencing rant, spent more time talking about how the last year has affected him Never once seeking forgiveness. Never once showing any contrition. Never once truly admitting to the wrongs he had done. Never once taking responsibility for his actions. Fighting till the end. Fighting authority till the end. Declaring himself sovereign till the end. Do you believe Daryl Brooks is a Christian? I don't. Now ultimately, that is in the hands of God. No one is saved or not saved based on my opinion or your opinion of their salvation. But people will be known by their fruit. Does Daryl Brooks' fruit indicate fruit from a good tree? Or is it bad fruit from a bad tree? Because a bad tree will not produce good fruit. And a good tree will not produce bad fruit. Now you might be thinking, judge not lest you be judged. Well, that passage in Matthew 7 talks about not judging hypocritically. Hey, you know what? If I ran down six people with a car and killed them, and if I ran down another 60 others and injured them, and I showed no remorse for those actions, and then I pointed a finger at Daryl Brooks and said, you're wrong, you're not saved, you're bound for hell. Yeah, I would be looking at the splinter in my brother's eye while ignoring the log in my own. But Jesus himself said, do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. It takes very little wisdom or discernment to look at Daryl Brooks' life, a criminal history that spans more than a decade. This was not Daryl Brooks' first run-in with the law. a registered sex offender, multiple violent assaults, multiple run-ins with the police and resisting the police over a 10-year period. While Daryl Brooks would point an index finger heavenward, look up longingly with tear-filled eyes and say, Jesus is Lord. What about you? What about you? You might be thinking, now, Tony, if you're about to compare me to Daryl Brooks, well, do I think that you are going to one day drive through a Christmas parade and kill six and injure 60 more? No. No. But yet the word of God does say whoever hates his brother is a murderer. I would have you consider this. Daryl Brooks claimed to believe, but he did not tremble. He did not tremble. Daryl Brooks claimed to be a Christian, but there's no evidence in that man's life that he actually knows Jesus Christ. I have opportunities to talk to people on an almost daily basis out on the streets of my community and beyond, and I have met hundreds and hundreds of people who would declare to me that they are a Christian. Most of them could not articulate the gospel the way Daryl Brooks did. But even minimal probing into their lives and into their thinking shows that they are not living a life in obedience to Christ. They're not part of a local church family. They are not reading the Bible. They pray when they need something, like rubbing a lamp and hoping to get three wishes from a genie. They praise Jesus with their lips, but yet their hearts are far from him, but yet they would insist, I believe. I believe. Is that you? Do you believe? the way Daryl Brooks believes? Or have you genuinely put your faith and your trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation? Do you even know the gospel? That again, God the Father sent His Son to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man and without sin, who lived a life of perfection for some 33 years, a life that you and I cannot live for 33 seconds. And yet as God in the flesh, and knowing no sin whatsoever, he voluntarily submitted himself to the torturous bloody death of a Roman cross. He died a death he did not deserve to take upon himself the punishment you and I rightly deserve for our sins against God. And unlike every false God created in the imaginations of men, Jesus Christ did not remain in the grave. No, three days after his death, he rose from the grave. He was seen by more than 500 witnesses over a 40-day period, and then he ascended back to heaven, not in a spiritual sense, but truly in a bodily sense, where he now literally, physically sits at the right hand of power. And he will one day return at a time that no man knows. And when he returns, he will return not as a baby meek and mild in a manger, but as the lion of the tribe of Judah to judge both the living and the dead. Do you say you believe in Jesus, but you've never heard that gospel before? You cannot be saved by a gospel you do not know. For the word of God says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Now maybe, like Daryl Brooks, you can articulate that gospel the way he did. Maybe you can say with your lips that you believe it. But if you were to give an honest assessment of your life, an honest assessment of your own heart and mind. Do you believe to the point of obedience? Now you might ask, well, Tony, are you telling me that I have to work my way into heaven? That I have to work my way to stay saved? Are you telling me that if I don't perfectly obey God's commands, that I'm either not going to receive salvation or I'm going to lose the salvation that I think I have? Tony, are you telling me that you obey God perfectly? No, I'm not saying any of that. But let me paint this picture for you. Let's say you were my next door neighbor, and you are young enough to be either my son or my daughter. And one day, you knock on my door. And I open the door, and you say, hi, Tony. I want to mow the lawn. I want to mow your lawn so that I could be your son or so that I could be your daughter. Now I'm going to look at you, and I'm going to smile. I'm going to say a couple of things. One, thank you for getting me out of yard work. That honeymoon's over. Have at it. I really appreciate you wanting to do my lawn. And then I'm going to look at you, and with thoughtfulness, I'm going to say, it means a lot to me that you want to be my son or my daughter. But then I'm going to be honest with you, and I'm going to say, mowing my lawn isn't going to make you my son or my daughter. But what if you were my son or my daughter, and I come home one day, and I see you mowing the lawn, and I'm a skeptical dad, and I'm wondering why is Johnny mowing the lawn? Why is Sally mowing the lawn? What does he or she want? Does he want the keys to the car? Does he want my wallet? Does he got a girl to tell me about? Does she have a guy to tell me about? Bad grade on a report card, what is it? Something's up. I wouldn't expect them to do this on their own. And you see me and you come running over and you say, Dad, I'm mowing the lawn. Yeah, I don't want anything from you. I'm just so thankful that you're my dad and I love you. That would make most grown men cry. Many people think that they're going to stand before God and say, Hey, I mowed your lawn. Hey, I went to church. Hey, I read the Bible. Hey, I prayed. Hey, I helped a little old lady across the street. I worked at the soup kitchen. I never went to prison. I'm ready to come into your kingdom. I'm ready to be your son or your daughter." Jesus spoke very specifically about people like that. He said, Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name? And Jesus said, I will declare to them on that day, depart from me, I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness. He wasn't speaking to the professed atheist, and there really are no atheists. Every human being knows that God exists. They simply suppress that truth by their unrighteousness. No, he was speaking to religious people. He was speaking to people who would call Jesus Lord, declare him Lord. And he would say to them, depart from me. I never knew you, you worker of lawlessness, because they were trusting in their own perceived goodness. They were trusting in their works plus Jesus. No one's going to get to heaven by obeying God's law. No one's going to get to heaven by obeying God's commands, because Jesus said you are to be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect, and none of us measure up. Even if you were to begin at this moment, living a perfect life, it would not erase all of your sin prior to that moment. And if you want to get to heaven, if you want to be welcomed into God's kingdom based on your own perceived goodness, plus adding belief in Jesus, then all you have to do is live a perfect life from cradle to grave. How are you doing? But if God has caused you to be born again to a living hope and salvation is of the Lord, The only thing you or I bring to salvation is the sin that makes it necessary. If God has caused you to be born again by his grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, you are going to want to live a life pleasing to him, not to earn his love, not to keep his love, not to bribe the judge, but because you're so thankful for the free gift of eternal life that God has given you. You will not look at your alleged belief in Jesus as nothing more than a get-out-of-hell free card. You will see yourself as a beloved adopted son or daughter of the Most High God. You will have the assurance of salvation not on the basis of anything you have done or you have said to earn or deserve it, but on the basis of God's grace, mercy, and love alone that would allow His Son to die for a sinner like you. for a sinner like me. So no, I do not believe that Daryl Brooks knows Jesus Christ as his Lord and his Savior. But for now, Daryl Brooks is still breathing God's air. And so there is yet hope for a vicious, vile, reprehensible human being like Daryl Brooks. There is still hope. but he must come to God on his terms. And that is by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For God, like a good judge in a courtroom, does not negotiate with sinners. Think of it this way, since we've been spending all of this time looking at a court trial, let's say that you were Daryl Brooks. Let's say you were standing before the judge on the judge of sentencing and the judge sentenced you to six consecutive life sentences. No, let's go a step further. Let's go to where Daryl Brooks should have been sentenced. Oh, he should have been sentenced. He should have received the death penalty for his crimes. But at present, there is no death penalty in the state of Wisconsin. Let's say the judge sentences you to death. And unlike our system today where you're going to have the next 10 to 20 years with three hots and a cot on my dime, all the education, all the legal support you can think of, all again on my dime. Instead of that, instead of 10 to 20 years of appeals, you're going to be whisked into the next room immediately. They're going to strap you to a gurney with your name on it. They're going to drive a needle into your arm with your name on it, and they're going to put you to sleep like a stray dog. But as that's about to happen, the judge who found you guilty stands up from behind his bench. He takes off his robes of authority. He steps down, and he says, I have found you guilty. I have rightly sentenced you to death, and I'm going to take your place. And the judge who sentenced you to die voluntarily walks into that next courtroom, allows himself to be strapped to a gurney with your name on it, allows a needle to be driven into his arm with your name on it, and he dies the death you should have died and you're set free. Not because you're good, not because you're innocent, but because the judge chose to love you so much to die the death that you should die and take your place. That is a picture of what Jesus Christ actually did. The cross is where justice and mercy kissed. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and your Savior? Have you denied Him all your life? Or have you pretended to know Him all your life? Well, now is the acceptable time. Today is the day of salvation. Repent. Turn to Christ and live. while God has given you time. Thank you so much for watching this edition of the Stop and Talk podcast. If it's been an encouragement to you, and if you think it might be an encouragement to others, I would ask that you would share it for no other reason than to further the gospel and to bring glory to Jesus Christ. God bless you, and I'll see you next time.