Welcome to Bible Believers Fellowship and the ministry of bbfohio.com. I'm Pastor Greg and I welcome you to our current events update and then our study in Acts chapter 16 verses 25 through 31 titled, What Must I Do to be Saved? The conclusion of this two-part message can be found at bbfohio.com. As we now begin, this is part one of two. The Current Events Update. Israel at war. Today is the 19th, I believe. That's day 225 by our reckoning, down to a number of 132 hostages. 52 plus are believed to be deceased, however. So that takes you down, I believe, to 80, living possibly Just this week, they recovered bodies of Itzhak Gelarenter, Amit Baskila, and Shani Luke. One of those was the young lady, I believe, on the back of the moped. You saw the video of her being taken off away from that concert. Anytime people start to convince you that Israel doesn't have a right to do what they're doing in Gaza, just go back and watch the video. and into yesterday evening. I try to give as current as I can, but we're seven hours difference from Israel. And so when we get up in the morning, they've been up, you know, for seven hours. But into the night, there was a barrage of rockets, drones raining down on northern Israel. And then there were 10 rockets fired at the south. So Israel's not a real big place. So when there's rockets going north and south in the central district, you're not too far away from that action. Meanwhile, the Israel hard left. is playing politics with this war. That's just a sick, sad thing that you see happen in this country too. But Gantz sets June 8th deadline for PM, meaning Netanyahu, to make post-war plan or he'll bolt coalition, meaning he'll cripple the government by pulling his part of the coalition out. Their government, their elections, everything aren't like ours. They have a parliamentarian type of government. Usually there's I don't know how many numerous parties and whoever gets the most votes then has to form a majority coalition with this party and that party coming together and if he doesn't do that they have no elections and you might remember a few years ago they went over and over, had election after election because no one could win and form a coalition. So it's real sloppy and messy form of government. And this guy could really throw a monkey wrench into things if he does what he's saying he's going to do. We've also been pointing out this is all Iran versus Israel. Hamas, Hezbollah, all these groups are funded by Iran. So when your president gives them billions of dollars, he's funding Hamas and Hezbollah. That's what Joe Biden has funded, Hamas and Hezbollah. That's the truth. And so he's funding them through Iran. And Iran's reign of terror continues. We haven't talked a lot about this, but some people seem to lose sight of the reality this is happening constantly. They're going to kill this man. He's a Jewish Iranian. There are some Jews in Iran. And he was defending himself, but he killed a Muslim. And if you're a Jew, Kill a Muslim for any reason. They could be raping your wife and killing your family. If you kill a Muslim, they're going to execute you. And that's what they're going to do to this guy. Arvin Nathaniel Garamani is his name. We pray for him. Just a couple of examples. I do not recommend you trust everything coming out of Amnesty International, but sometimes they give some information and they do get due credit for it. This is Kamran Sheikha. He's a Kurd, and the Kurds are a minority group, and you might have heard of them a lot during the Iraq war, and a lot of them are Christians. I couldn't find whether this man is one or not, but they're just, he hasn't done anything, but he's not in support of the Iranian government, so they're going to kill him. But ending on a positive note, you remember when after president, after president, after president told you, if you elect me, I will, among other things, in support of Israel, I'll move the embassy to Jerusalem. They lied, they lied, they lied, until a guy named Donald Trump got elected and he moved the embassy to Jerusalem. Remember that? Well, there's a Geert Wilders, In the Netherlands, who was elected, he's their version of a Donald Trump. And he has now moved their embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And that's his picture. He posted that, standing with Israel. Isn't that great? He's a rare bird in international politics today. Pray for that man. I don't believe he's a Christian. I mean, he might call himself like an Orthodox or something, but I've never heard him say that he's actually a believer in Christ. But he's standing with Israel. He is against the whole New World Order, WEF thing. And so he's one of the rare good guys you can support. What was his name again? Geert Wilders, or Wilders. It's spelled weird, so you just have to look it up. Netherlands, he's Prime Minister, I believe, of Netherlands. Number two is, one, I'm going to tell you, I don't like this. What I'm about to tell you, I don't like. But you know what, as a pastor, I have to tell you things I don't like to tell you. I don't like preaching on hell. But when we're reading this book and he talks about hell, I'm not going to lie to you about it either. And I don't like last week that preacher that I showed that Lauren, what was his name? I can't remember now. You know, that was blasting people for buying the Bible with the constitution in the back of it. I don't like talking about that stuff, but you got to counter false teaching and lies and such. And in our day, compromise is honored above faithfulness. I mean, you want to be the big guy, every once in a while, there's a big timer is not too bad, but most of the guys that are the big and famous Christian teachers, they got there through compromise. Well, it's been a long time since I talked about this fella. I might have brought him up once or twice this year in passing, but Billy Graham, I don't know if you saw this, he was honored with a statue in the Capitol building. just happened this week. And he was called one of our dearest treasures. First, I wanna bring this up to you. When you see somebody claiming to be a Christian leader who is loved by everybody, there's something wrong, folks. Luke, Jesus said this in Luke 6, 26. Jesus said, woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you. For so did their fathers to the who? False prophets. That's the words of Jesus. And he's got his statue in there surrounded by some of the most godless people on the planet, applauding. How's that happen? The event featured speeches from US House Speaker Mike Johnson, who's turned out to be a joke. Graham's son, Reverend Franklin Graham, who I have a higher level of respect for than Billy. Franklin's never denied that Jesus is the only way to heaven, for example. He's got his issues. And Evangelical Humanitarian Organization. And Grammy-winning Christian musician Michael W. Smith sang, I Surrender All. Yeah, sounds great. Johnson, the speaker, revealed the statue alongside North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. He is one of the most wicked politicians on planet Earth, and he gave a speech. Cooper, a Democrat, cited Graham as one of the several treasures bestowed on the US by his home state. Now, how does he? Well, Cooper praised Graham's, here it is, Cooper praised Graham's willingness to work with politicians on both sides of the aisle, saying he didn't seek to, quote, bludgeon or deify any political candidate or party, end quote. I don't know if you know this, but in all his years of ministry, Billy wasn't at the forefront against abortion. He was almost silent when it comes to Sodom. That's just the facts. That's how you win certain friends. Quote, instead he would use his magnetic, loving, persuasive gifts to counsel and lift in prayer political leaders of both parties. Here it is. Quote, he did not seek to attack other religions and he treated all with dignity and respect. In fact, he once said, racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, or hatred of anyone with different beliefs has no place in the human mind or heart, end quote. Now, that is something I won't disagree with if it was actually what was true. See? But it says that he didn't seek to attack other religions. Wait a minute, if you're a true gospel preacher, you attack everything that preaches a false gospel. Everything. If you don't, you're not a real preacher. I don't care if your name is Billy Graham. It doesn't matter. He says, you know, racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, or hatred of anyone with different beliefs. See, that's a lie because what they'll say is what I just said about attacking anyone who preaches any other gospel, they call that hatred. I would agree with that statement but not the application because they'll say that I am hateful because I say Jesus is the only way. I didn't say that, Jesus said that. Neither is there salvation in any other for there's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. I didn't say that, Saint Peter said that. You see how it works? That's the devil. That's how Satan, you can hear, you can almost hear this. He's slick. And he uses language. He uses words falsely. And they'll accuse you and I of hate because we insist that if you don't receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are going to hell. And it's a real place with flames and suffering and torment. I'm not gonna lie to you just to make you like me. And most preachers today will lie to you because they want you to like them. They'll say, oh, it's symbolic of judgment. It's not really actual torment in hell. Why am I saying that? Because that makes you like me better. I can get more money. Yeah. You see, you got somebody dumb enough like me, I don't care about the money. I don't. That's one of the reasons I prayed that the Lord put me in a position where I don't have to have a paycheck. You can't threaten me with not paying me. You can't even take away the free coffee. So I'm the one to make sure we have it. Psalm 119, 104 is still in the real Bible. I don't know the new versions. But the real Bible says, through thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. If you're not going through Jesus, you're in a false way and we hate it. Why do we hate it? We hate it because we love you. We love you enough to tell you the truth. I don't want you to go to hell. You see how different things look when viewed through the lens of Scripture? You listen to your favorite preachers and compare them to Scripture, they might not be your favorite preachers anymore. But if you listen to a preacher, it's your favorite preacher or whatever, and you find that it is biblical, there you go. Good for you. But that's going to be a rare thing in these last days. This is Roy Cooper, by the way. Governor of North Carolina, speaking and just, you know, honoring Billy Graham. This is his website. He vetoed a bill because he called it the dangerous abortion ban. He vetoed a ban on abortion in his state. He wants abortion, as far as I can see, without any constraints right up to the time that baby's coming out. He's a wicked, wicked man. Roy Cooper. Pray for him if he's not already handed over to a reprobate mind that he'd get saved. and have that lost reprobate honoring Billy Graham ought to be a red flag. I want people like Roy Cooper to spit when they say my name, if they ever say it. Here's another one right off of his website. He signed an executive order to help protect, this is Satan speaking, this is Satan. to protect women's access to reproductive health care. He means killing babies. That's how Satan talks. He doesn't speak plainly. He hides his words with lies. By the way, usually birds of a feather, he also calls for gun bans. He's a Marxist punk. who would take your rights from you and throw you in jail if you don't go along with the radical Democrat Marxist death cult. That's where we live right now. Why does the world love Billy? Ask yourself this question. Why does the world love Billy Graham? Now, I'm going to say this again. We have at least a couple people here, I think, give testimony. They got saved listening to him preach the gospel. But is the standard, okay, he preached the gospel here, but he denies Christ over there, therefore he's okay, because over here, no. If I'm up here preaching the truth, but then you hear me deny Christ, out of here. This ain't baseball, it's one strike and you're out. Listen to this. Tell me, what do you think is the future of Christianity? I think everybody that loves Christ or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the body of Christ. And that's what God is doing today. He's calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world or the Buddhist world or the Christian world or the non-believing world. They are members of the body of Christ because they've been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus. But they know in their heart that they need something that they don't have. And they turn to the only light that they have. And I think that they are saved and they're going to be with us in heaven. This is fantastic. I'm so thrilled to hear you say that. There's a wideness in God's mercy. There is. No, there's not. Jesus said, Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. That's the wide gate. And many there be which go in thereat, because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. And few there be that find it. I mean, those two clowns are sitting there on international television at the time it happened, completely denying Jesus Christ and His Word. You can be saved and not even know Christ. The body of Christ is made up of people, Muslim, Hindu, whatever. That's just satanic nonsense. and he gets a free pass because his name's Billy Graham? Not with me, he doesn't. I don't care what your name is. I don't care if it had been my own father. Thank God, I never heard my dad say something that ridiculously anti-Christ. But if it had been my own father, I would have denounced it. That's the one thing I've got against Franklin. Franklin, do you love Jesus or Billy more? You should love them both, but you should love Jesus more. Franklin should tell the world, my dad said this, and he was wrong. But he said this on Larry King. But what about those faiths, the Mormons and the others that you mentioned, believe in Christ. They believe they will meet Christ. What about those like the Jews, the Muslims, who don't believe as you believe? That's in God's hands. I can't be their judge. You don't judge them? No. You can't tell a lost man his loss? How do you feel when you see a lot of these strong Christian leaders go on television and say, you are condemned, you will live in hell if you do not accept Jesus Christ. And they are forceful and judgmental. Well, they have a right to say that. And they are true to a certain extent, but that's not my calling. My calling is to preach the love of God and the forgiveness of God. and the fact that He does forgive us. That's what the cross is all about, what the resurrection is all about. That's the gospel. And you can get off on all kinds of different side trails. In my earlier ministry, I did the same. But as I got older, I guess I became more mellow and more forgiving and more loving. To him that believeth not, is not condemned, I mean, sorry, the he that believeth is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. If you're a true preacher, you preach both sides of that coin. You just don't preach love, love, love, love, love. You preach, why is Jesus on that cross? Christ died for our sins. You are a sinner. You are on your way to hell. You must be born again by faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. No other faith, no other religion, no other message, no other gospel. If you can't say that, you're not a real preacher. You might be somebody who was propped up and created by the news media of that day. We have a one hour documentary that documents all this. Hearst, not Holy Ghost, Hearst was behind that ministry, that man. Puff Graham, that's right, exact words. But was it loving ability to teach lies? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4.15, but speaking the truth in love. We will preach the truth and I try to smile as much as I can. But you know, a guy standing up here just smiling every time he's talking to you about everything, that's a form of a lie. Because sometimes it ain't smile material. Sometimes it's just serious. I'll guarantee you Jesus wasn't, you've seen some of these modern forms of Jesus and he's always just smiling and you know, happy clappy. That's not the real Jesus. Jesus wasn't a fruit. So be informed, pray accordingly. Amen? Alright, we continue in Acts 16 with Paul and Silas in prison. In response, they form a violent group, make shanks and try to take over. No. It's wild. They prayed and sang praises unto the Lord. So there in Acts 16, 25-31, read the odd with me, so join me in verse 25. And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Amen? So, Paul and Silas choose to stay put, and lead folks to Christ. It's an amazing thing. If I'm sitting there in shackles in a dungeon-type prison and God opens the doors, I'm gone. So, but we see the jailbreak there with a question mark, because it's a jailbreak, but there's nobody breaking out, verses 25 and 26. And then with the question of a suicide comes up there in 27 to 29, and then we see the happy ending, it results in salvation. So we left Paul and Silas beaten and jailed. And they chose to respond with prayer and praise. That's always a shock there. We showed you the area in which they are up in Philippi, northeast of Greece, basically on the map. If you look it up on a modern map, that's how you'll see it. And we start with that jailbreak beginning in verse 25, it says, And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God. So they're not only in shackles, they've been beaten. They had to be exhausted. And yet it's midnight, and they break out the guitar, and they actually didn't have a guitar. They chose to respond, not the singing and everything, but it's with faith. What's driving that response? Faith. Look at Ephesians chapter 5 real quick. This is something that some Christians don't know is in their Bible. I'm just saying that based on what I see. But Ephesians 5, 16 to 21, I'll start reading as you turn there, redeeming the time because the days are evil. So if this isn't for today, nothing is. Verse 17, wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is, and be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess. I hope I'm not talking to anybody here coming off of a, you know, weekend drunk or anything like that. But you should never get drunk to sin. Amen? But you don't just not get drunk.