Well, on KHCB we like to have periodic updates from ministry that has been part of Christian Radio or the folks have dropped by to give us a little insight into what they are doing for the Lord. Our very special guest is Paul Scharf. Paul has been here before and he is back with us. He is with a ministry called Friends of Israel. Great to have you back here at the studios. You're coming all the way from Wisconsin, right? That's right, Bruce, as we're here today, it's almost 90 degrees, but back home, we're getting ready for a snowstorm. Wow, well, I'm sure you're glad that you're a little further south, no doubts, and you are with a ministry that actually seeks to reach people with the Word of God. They call it Friends of Israel, but you are trying to help people who don't know Christ as Savior come to know Christ as Savior, whether they're from Israel or from elsewhere. That's right, Bruce, and thank you so much for having me back. It's always such a joy to be with you here. And yes, the Friends of Israel, believe it or not, we're getting ready this coming December to celebrate 85 years. And we praise the Lord for the rich history and the worldwide ministry today of the Friends of Israel. And our goal is to reach Jewish people with the knowledge of their Messiah. But as you said, Bruce, we want to reach everyone with the importance that the Bible places on Israel, the people and the land. We have, of course, a Jewish Bible. We have a Jewish Savior. We're awaiting a Jewish kingdom to come. And we just want to share that message with everyone, let them know the importance of Israel, and let the people of Israel and all the people of the world know about the Israeli Messiah who has come to be our Savior. You've been with the ministry for several years, gonna rehearse what you do, and then how did you get involved with Friends of Israel? Obviously, you've not been there all 85 years. No, I'm in my fifth year of the 85 years, my fifth year, and I serve as a church ministries representative in the Midwest, and we've stretched that a little bit. I preached in eight different states last year, And that includes Texas. And this is my fourth trip to Texas. And Bruce, thanks to your generosity, my fourth trip here to KHCB. My journey to the Friends of Israel. Well, I kind of, I sometimes will ask people in a church service, how many have a life verse, a life Bible verse? And a few people will raise their hand and I'll say, well, how many have a life hymn verse? And almost no one will raise their hand. And I'll say, well, here's my life hymn verse. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. But truly by the grace of God, he led us to the friends of Israel through a variety of life experiences. And I had pastored in the past. I've taught. And I've done a number of other things as well. But trust that the Lord is using all of those experiences and talents that he's given to me to come together in our ministry with the Friends of Israel. We hope to do this for whatever years the Lord gives us, to serve in this way by being out preaching and teaching in churches, writing, speaking, and sharing the news about Israel as I've described it here. All right, Paul Scharf joins us, the Friends of Israel. I've got to ask, if you're using that as your hymn verse, What dangers and toils have you had to endure? Well, I'll just share one specific one, Bruce, that led to directly into our coming into the Friends of Israel. And that was my wife in 2017 was diagnosed with a pituitary tumor, a brain tumor, and she had brain surgery. And to make a very long story short, Out of that time, the Lord really showed us through how he cared for us through that process, it was time for us to seek, to offer ourselves to ministry with Friends of Israel, which was not necessarily the easiest path of a life for us, but something that I believe the Lord convicted us to pursue and we're so glad we did. All right, well, Paul Scharf, our guest today. Friends of Israel, they have an easy website. It's just simply those three letters, F-O-I, friendsofisrael.org. Let's mention, you say you're with Church Ministries, so you represent FOI at a number of churches, including you're gonna be speaking this Sunday. That's right, it's my privilege, Bruce, and I'll be, well, I can't say taking the place of, but I'll be filling in for my friend, Dr. Andy Woods, the pastor at Sugar Land Bible Church, and I'm so thrilled and honored to be able to do that while he's away at one of his outside speaking engagements. I'll be at Sugar Land, my fourth time there as well, but my second time on a Sunday, speaking in both hours, Sunday morning, about one of the most underrated men in all the Bible, and that is Samuel, the last judge, the first prophet, and really the man who mentored King David and who had such an incredible impact on the nation of Israel. And it's astounding how little we think about Samuel. Lord willing, we're going to think about him this Sunday. Think about him as the man that heaven heard and the man who offered such an example of the power of godly leadership. at a critical time. And Bruce, I think we're living at a time kind of like that right now. In fact, many people say we're living in so-called last times. Paul Scharf will be speaking this Sunday about Samuel at Sugar Land Bible Church. Let's talk about something else you're going to be speaking. Actually, it starts tonight and on Saturday about the so-called end times. And tell us a bit about what you're going to be doing and what the Friends of Israel is offering, I guess, worldwide. Yes, that's right, Bruce. It's providential that we could be together at this time because tonight, as you said, is day one of a two-day online Bible prophecy conference that, as you mentioned, it'll go around the world. It's called Look Up. It's a virtual conference. It's online only. And here's the great news, Bruce, it's free. No cost. People just have to register at lookupfoi.org and they can be a complete part of this conference, whether they're all by themselves and just need something to watch or whether they want to gather a group together and watch together. But it'll be for two evenings, Friday and Saturday, beginning at six o'clock. Houston time, Central time, which is also my time at home, 7 Eastern, tonight, March 10, and Saturday, March 11. And it's about the unanswered questions of Bible prophecy unraveling the mysteries of the Bible and of what the Bible says about the future. And one of the questions is, why do we say there has to be a millennial kingdom? In fact, you're going to be teaching on that. That's right, Bruce. The wonderful thing for me is I got to be part of this conference. That was a great joy and a great delight and a great learning experience. Although it's online and not in front of everyone who will be watching, yet in one sense it's, by God's grace, probably the biggest speaking engagement I've ever had. And I also learned a lot. as I said, in the process of making the recording at our headquarters back in January. So it's all pre-recorded. We're not trying to hide that fact, but it's going to run for the first time, much like a broadcast. tonight and Saturday. But Bruce, it's going to be available until March 24th, all for free, and people can register after the live stream is gone, but the videos will be there. People can still register and watch. Maybe they have even a small group Bible study and they could devote one or two nights to getting together and watching some of these videos. All right, Paul Scharf with some good ideas today on KHCBA about a special, I guess you would call it, second coming conference, a prophecy conference. It's called Look Up. One word, look up, F-O-I dot O-R-G. Look up, F-O-I dot O-R-G. And Paul is one of the speakers. I know you have several others. You're not just the only one that's reminding people that the Lord is returning. That's right, Bruce. I'll just go through them real quickly, and people can find more information on the website. But it begins with our president, Dr. Jim Showers. Why is prophecy important for today? Then Dan Price, who works in our international ministries, does a great job there. What are the signs of Christ coming? Then my boss, Chris Kotelka, talks about why must things get worse before they get better? And then both of our bosses, me and Chris, Steve Herzig, who many people know for years with the Friends of Israel, where is the United States in the end times? That's an interesting question. He does a wonderful job with that. Dr. Mike Stollard, also with International Ministries and well known as a great teacher, when will the kingdom begin? And then I actually have the final message, Bruce, on the question, why must there be a millennial kingdom? And I offered five reasons why I think there must be a millennial kingdom that people can see. All right, we're gonna make you people go to the website, and we're not gonna give them all the answers to that, why there must be, but there are at least five reasons, and that is available through lookupfoi.org, lookup, F-O-I, Friends of Israel, and that already starts this evening, but it will be available all the way through March 24th. You just have to register and sign up. There is no cost. So maybe on that theme, as we wrap up our time together, Why should believers, and I think of Titus 2, I think it's starting at verse 11, why should believers be looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ? We know it's going to happen, but Paul seems to kind of indicate that it could happen sooner than later. That's right, Bruce. We believe it could happen, in fact, at any time. And it always could have happened at any time, at any moment. But if you're like me, you seem to think things are happening differently now than we quite remember them. in previous times. And some of these things, quite frankly, they're scary, they're difficult, they're concerning. We see all kinds of impending dangers in the world. And there's always been danger in the world, but we see some new trends, some more intense factors today that I believe relate to what we call the setting of the stage for the Lord's return. We're not making any prediction. We're not setting a date. But we believe God is setting the stage for Christ's return through the events that we're seeing unfolding before us today. And we don't want to presume on the future. We want to take every advantage of this time. We want to use this time wisely and well. We are here for such a time as this, Bruce, and we need to share that message that you mentioned from the Apostle Paul in Titus 2, 11 and following. We're looking, we're waiting for the blessed hope the appearing of Jesus Christ. And we, whatever else we're going to do, we better use this time to get ourselves and our families ready and to spread the message and share it. And maybe not everyone listening is a teacher or a preacher, but they can do things like tell people about our conference. that's running tonight. Okay, and they can look up foi.org, look up foi.org and be a part of this conference. It's free, you just have to register and it'll be available for a couple of weeks. If you can't get to it tonight, certainly put down this address, look up foi.org and view it later. Always a joy to catch up with you, Paul. Thanks for taking time. I know you have a real busy schedule. We're trying to squeeze you in, along with all the other activities and duties and speakings that you have. And for those who are in the Houston area, Sugar Land Bible Church will be hosting Paul on Sunday morning. God speed you, sir. Thank you, Bruce. It's always a great joy. You're tuned to Christian Radio, keeping him close by.