God Bless the USA Bible…Does God Still Bless the USA?
July 2, 2024
Host: Hon. Sam Rohrer
Co-host: Dr. Isaac Crockett
Guest: Lee Greenwood
Note: This transcript is taken from a Stand in the Gap Today program originally aired on 7/02/24. To listen to the podcast, click HERE.
Disclaimer: While reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate transcription, the following is a representation of a mechanical transcription and as such, may not be a word for word transcript. Please listen to the audio version for any questions concerning the following dialogue.
Sam Rohrer: Hello and welcome to this July 2nd Tuesday edition of Stand In the Gap. Today, this week is of course Independence Day week where Americans are, well you probably one of them traveling, perhaps visiting friends, attending fireworks displays, eating good food around the grill, perhaps a busy week. It’s a good week for most people. And though we look around and see trouble, it seems on every hand and lawlessness increasing injustice on display, I trust that each of you, all of us here who know the Lord will remember that He alone is the giver of all good things. He is the bestower of crew rights, not government. And as our Declaration of Independence declares our creator and the supreme judge of the world now, in addition to this special program today, and you’ll see just a moment I’ll explain we’re going to consider on Thursday of this week, which is Independence Day.
Sam Rohrer: We’re going to consider some historical facts about our Declaration of Independence. So you don’t want to miss that. Now today, Dr. Isaac Crockett and I have the privilege of talking with a man very well-known across this country. He’s perhaps best known for a song of patriotism that he wrote in 1983. And it’s earned the unique distinction of being voted. The song has the number one song of the year for 1985. Now, some of you listening weren’t even alive then perhaps, but lots of you were. Now this guy’s name is, and you’ll recognize it, Lee Greenwood. And that song is God Bless the USA, which you may not have known CBS News voted years ago to be the most recognizable patriotic song in America at that time. But then in 20, 24 years ago, Lee initiated the publication of the God Bless the USA Bible comprised of the King James version, along with several key American documents of importance, including the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and more. Now today in this segment and next we’re going to talk with Lee and discover his reason for both the writing of the song in 1983 and the compiling of key US documents along with the Bible in 2020. So stay tuned. And with that I welcome to the program right now, Lee Greenwood. Lee, thanks so much for being with Isaac and I today.
Lee Greenwood: Oh, you’re very welcome. Thank you for having me on the show. And just a quick happy birthday to America this weekend. It’s always a time when I turn my attention to soldiers who may not be in the continental of the United States, who are serving around the world somewhere. I have an awful lot of friends and many of them who are wounded warriors who we admire and take care of as much as we can in our daily lives. And we see soldiers coming, going in uniform to different places and we’d stop and just say, thank you for your service. And they look at you kind of surprised in a second, but most of ’em are so grateful that you’ve said that
Sam Rohrer: You’re right. And you’ve done an awful lot, Lee, and for that we thank you and our listeners do as well for recognizing those who often well don’t get the attention and the thanks that they deserve. So let’s go here though. In 1983 you wrote God Bless the USA. People know that they know that song. And I’m going to play just a clip of it in just a minute. It could take a couple minutes, not much longer. We want to play that. But here’s the question, why did you write this song? Some information I’ve read suggests that you wrote it in the hope of helping to unite America. I think that’s what I read. But was that the reason or were there other reasons that you wrote this song?
Lee Greenwood: Well, I get that question so many times. It’s not complicated. I love my country. I am sort of a patriot by heart. I was the drum major of my high school band. I marched in parades. I saw the pageantry of it. I love, I wish I’d have served in the military. I did not. So it always is something that’s close to my heart. But when it comes to being an author of my music, I signed at MCA in 1981. I started touring the country and I had three or four albums. It would always been my wish, I think, to write something about America, but it wasn’t necessarily something that I wanted to influence anyone. It wasn’t even considered something to unite the country. It was just how I felt about my United States of America. And when we put it on the album, which is our, I think our fifth or sixth album out of Nashville Country album, it was called You’ve Got a Good Love Coming, which was a nice beautiful song, 1985 release. It was universal that actually asked if we could release my pinned song, God Bless, the USA rather than the title cut of that album. And I was rather surprised it wasn’t ever scheduled for a single release, but I think if Universal hadn’t asked for that, I don’t think anybody would’ve ever heard it at all. It’s just been buried in the album somewhere. Well,
Sam Rohrer: That’s interesting. I’ll tell you what, we’ll come back and ask you another question, but I want to get this in. So Tim, if you would play Ladies and Zen, we’re going to play 45 seconds of the end of this song. You’ll recognize it. Absolutely. Tim, play it. Please
Song: Gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today there.
Isaac Crockett: I love that song. I get chills. I’ve heard you sing it in person, but even hearing that, thank you so much for that. And Lee, when you were writing this, writing all these top hit country songs and you write this, what was your thinking? What was your understanding about this need, this relationship between America and needing God to bless us?
Lee Greenwood: I think it was personal. I sang in the First Baptist Church in North Sacramento, California where I was raised by my grandparents on a sharecropper’s farm. I had faith in the very beginning, but I didn’t understand my relationship with Jesus Christ. That came much later. And when I started touring, I had yet to meet my wife Kim, and we’ve been married 32 years now, who were her and her parents and grandparents were all connected to the Southern Gospel community. And it was something that really brought me back strongly to faith. I had already written God bless the us. However, as you noted in the title, I put God first. And of course there’s lots of songs in America’s history where you have God bless America or America the beautiful and even the battle hym of the Republic, which I consider a southern anthem of unification. But I don’t think I ever meant the song to be any more than it was. And that was my tribute to my country.
Sam Rohrer: And Lee, that’s perfect. That brings us right up to the break. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’re just joining us, the voice you just heard and the song you just heard played, it was written by Lee Greenwood, God bless the USA, stay with us. He’s going to be with us for the next segment as well. And we’re going to move from that song which you just heard to the new Bible that God really laid on Lee’s heart to initiate called the God bless the USA Bible. We’re going to learn about that, what it is and why it is and provide as well for you the opportunity of how you can get it if you would like it. Well, if you’re just joining us today here, we are glad that you are on board and this is Independence Day Week Thursday, we’re going to have a very special program on the Declaration of Independence information about that wonderful document.
Sam Rohrer: But you know what, ladies and gentlemen, before there was that document, there was just an immense amount of instruction of the people who were in this country, early settlers, and where did they learn the important principles that found their way into the Declaration of Independence? What came from the Bible from God’s word. Now that brings us into where we’re going to go right now, a special guest, Lee Greenwood who yes, it is the same Lee Greenwood who wrote God Bless the USA, and we just talked about that Lee, it was in 2020 that according of your material that I’m reading, you were inspired to pursue the publication. You’re calling the God bless the USA Bible and it says, created for the purpose of bringing faith back into the United States. Here’s a question for you right now. What were the circumstances? You told us what you were led to write, God bless the USA, but what led you to decide that producing a King James version of the Bible and including key American documents in it, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Pledge of Allegiance, what was it that made you believe that an action of this type was worthy of your effort to do so?
Lee Greenwood: My wife and I both have bibles on our nightstands. We also have a family bible that rests on our coffee table in the living room. We’ve had many occasions where we’ve had people who have become United States citizens here, God bless the USA as part of their welcome to America. I was concerned about the conversation from some of them who really found out that they know more about America than an average citizen. I don’t know of when the last time you able to read the Constitution, it is displayed in Washington DC of course, and it’s under glass and it’s written in a rather heavy script. But I thought because I have the Bible itself, and we can tie that to America’s Beginning, why not have a Bible that contains those documents as well? And as you mentioned, it is the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights.
Lee Greenwood: We included the Pledge of Allegiance, which came later in America’s history. And I was asked to write the chorus of my song as well, a handwritten chorus that is in the back of the Bible and I prefer the King James version. We do have an American standard at home as well, but I prefer the King James version. And when the publishers came to me and described how they were going to present it, if you have it in front of you, it’s leather bound, beautifully done with a brown color leather, and it has an image of a flag at the bottom. I thought very appropriate that people who want to know more about America and want to know more about faith,
Isaac Crockett: I love that If you want to know more about America, you need to know about our faith and what we were as a nation, how we became a nation. And Sam and I, we have a lot to talk about that we could spend a lot of programs. But Lee, when you did get this published and put these documents in there so that we as Americans and those looking in America can be reminded of that legacy of faith in our country. I believe there was something that you said that you would like to see this help a movement of bringing back faith to America. And I’d just be curious what you’re seeing as you go all over the world but all over America, the need for bringing back our faith to America.
Lee Greenwood: I think the conclusion for a lot of Americans is, well, maybe we can just move along with realism and we don’t have to concern tradition or the past. If you want to talk about the real past, the real past is Jesus Christ who actually brought light to the world, it would be discontinued darkness. And I think when people consider themselves a Christian, you need to know more about the Bible, you need to know about faith, forgiveness and what it represents. And so I felt honored that we were allowed to do this and it’s been very well accepted across America and it
Sam Rohrer: Should be. And ladies and gentlemen, I think earlier on I may have said a new Bible. I want to make sure you understand this is not a new Bible. The word of God, king James version is not new. It’s the word of God. And Isaac and I are going to talk more about the history of the development of translations and all of that in the next segment, but it’s not new. It’s new from the standpoint, it’s the King James version with these various documents of importance to our nation, which we all know as we talk about so often, all of these documents find their root, find their genesis in the word of God. Now Lee, lemme come back and ask you this question. And by the way, if you want to know more about, I won’t say this version, but this package put this way, it’s a leather Bible, it’s brown.
Sam Rohrer: I’m looking at it right now. It’s very, very lovely. You can find it at God bless the usa bible.com. Be very easy to remember. God bless the usa bible.com. But Lee, in 2012, lemme go here. You released a book. Does God still bless the USA? Actually I’m putting a phraseology in there. You don’t have a question mark at the end. Use it. Does God still bless the USA? And in that book, it earned a number one ranking, which I think is remarkable on many of the notable bestsellers list. I did not read this book, Lee, to be honest. I got to tell you I did not read that. But in it, I’m going to ask you this question and expand upon it. Were you asking the question, does God still bless the USA as if is he or is he not? Or perhaps were you asking, can God still bless the USA? I’m going to put that particularly in context with the way that America has for so long and it seems at the present to be so fast running away from God. Any final thoughts about America? God, a return to the Bible, the word of God,
Lee Greenwood: Yes. That’s primarily why we did that. My wife and I actually constructed this book together. She wrote the prayers of a patriot in the back solely. And Kim is a devout Christian, and I’m grateful that our marriage is something that’s based in faith. But I will tell you that the question was twofold. If God is still busing America, are we the chosen people? And we know that’s not true. We are protected by our faith if we still believe. And that was what the question was to be. If God is still going to bless the United States of America, we need to follow his commandments. We need to more openly display that we are a Christian nation. And if we do that, then we are very hopeful that God will continue to mercifully put his hand on this country.
Isaac Crockett: Amen. We need his mercy. We need his grace every day. And again, that’s God bless the usa bible.com that we’ve been talking about. But as you go around the country singing and now with your Bible, and again just to think of what a big thing it’s been, writing these neat country songs, top hits, and then you write this and this has really helped bring a lot of people together. It’s helped unify a lot of folks I think. But when you go around, do you see hope that there are still strong Christians who are blessing God, that there’s part of America? Do you see that we can have a revival, that there’s enough of a flame to still see things rekindled in our lifetimes
Lee Greenwood: In my circle because of where I go and who I talk to, I may see a better part of America. And although I’m not ever deterred from talking about faith or Christ to anyone, and I’m not hesitant to bring that conversation into the light, but I think most of the people that I have ever performed for in my last 40 years since I came to Nashville, Tennessee, I’m very confident that this nation who may not speak it openly but are devout Christians, our churches are full. We have a wonderful church in Nashville that we go to and a wonderful pastor who has endorsed, by the way, our God bless the USA Bible, and I’m so proud of that,
Sam Rohrer: Lee, it’s a wonderful thing. Again, we don’t have too much time to go into anything else because we’re close to end of the program here, but you have about 45 seconds. Any final message that you would like to leave with our about the Bible, the song, or anything we’ve talked about so far?
Lee Greenwood: As you know, I wrote God bless the USA in 1983. It has served to unite America and it has served to heal America. I’m hopeful that my presence as an artist and the songs present in America’s history is discography will lead people to teach their children the right message about faith, the beginning of America and what America stands for. We are the most wonderful country on the face of the earth. We are benevolent. We have given so much and we protected other nations for their freedom. So I’m just hopeful that what I do is reflective of what God wants me to
Sam Rohrer: Do, and that is a fantastic way to end this program, Lee. That should be for all of us, ladies and gentlemen. But Lee Greenwood, author of God Bless the USA, that song and then this Bible, the King James version, along with some key American documents. God bless the USA Bible, which you can find at God bless the us A bible.com. Lee Greenwood. God bless you. Thank you so much for being with us today, a real encouragement and keep standing strong for the faith and walk forward, ladies and gentlemen, stay with us. We’ll be right back in just a moment. Well, if you’re just joining us and you did not catch the first part of the program with Lee Greenwood, the author and the writer of God Bless the USA, I encourage you to go back and listen to the program. The first time that I have actually met him, and Isaac, who’s with me here in the program today, has not talked with him directly either until today, but it was very, very encouraging.
Sam Rohrer: And so go back and listen to that again. Remember, within about 24 hours of these programs, when they’re posted, there is the text available, the transcription that you can get ahold of and read it and listen as well. But I think this program here today and the program on Thursday are both related and tie in with Independence Day week, the Declaration of Independence, the Bible, which we’re going to talk further about here today. So be aware there’s a connection as we try to weave things together in a way to well helped encourage us all in days when we need it. Let’s go here now in our modern day when the word of God, the Bible is available to literally every person in the world who would desire it. And it really is in many different translations. And with AI coming down the path as it is, it’s all literally any language.
Sam Rohrer: We cannot appreciate the fact that for so long having a copy of the Bible in the common language and even reading the Bible was considered a crime. That’s right. So now we have study Bibles, white margin Bibles, prophecy Bibles, chronological Bibles in theme Bibles such as the one we talked about today. God bless the USA Bible in the King James version pursued hereby Lee Greenwood, our guest, the first part of the program. But then there’s also been out for a while, the American Patriots Bible in the New King James version published by Thomas Nelson Printing, or there is the founder’s Bible in the New American standard version initiated by David Barton Point being. There are so many different variations. There are Bibles everywhere. Truly, there is no person alive who desires to know the truth of God’s word, who cannot today easily access the word of God.
Sam Rohrer: And that I say, what an amazing day in which we live. But as we look around for a moment, let’s look back to a time when the having or reading the word of God was a crime or it was simply impossible. This is what I’m going to do. I’m going to read here just a short excerpt from day one publications, a biography of William Tindale, written by Brian H. Edwards entitled Travel with William Tindale, the story of William Tindale and the English Bible. Let me just read this to you, interesting. During the early spring of 1524, a young priest slipped away from London and without the king’s leave made his way to the European continent. He was never to see his homeland again. And for the next 11 years, his life was an elaborate hide and seek as he pursued, as he was pursued at one time by four government agents.
Sam Rohrer: His crime and his life’s ambition were one and the same, to translate the Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek and presented, printed and bound so that even the boy who drove the plow could understand God’s word By the constitutions of Oxford of 1408, it was illegal on pain of death to read the scriptures in English without a bishop’s license. And to reinforce this, in April, 1519, one woman and six men were burned to death at Coventry for teaching their children the Lord’s Prayer, the 10 Commandments in the Apostles Creed in English. William Tindale was born in Glo, Shire England, studied at Oxford and later Cambridge, and spent two years teaching the children of Sir John and Lady Walsh in their small manor house at Little Sudbury. Here he began to translate the New Testament, and by the time he arrived on the continent, it was complete.
Sam Rohrer: The first ever printed New Testament in English was smuggled back into England early in 1526. And though the bishops burned the Bibles and often their owners, the word of God became an unstoppable force across the land. England had the Bible in the vernacular at last, Dale’s Old Testament from the Hebrew and New Testament from the Greek was a masterpiece of brilliant translation In all early copies of the Bible, Coverdales the first to be endorsed by Henry vii Matthews officially licensed by the king to be distributed across the land. The Geneva Bible, the Bible of the Pilgrim Fathers and Shakespeare, and even the authorized version, the King James version were largely the work of Dale. Professor David Daniel, a leading Shakespearean scholar claims that Dale’s translation and not the plays of Shakespeare molded the English language as we know it. And after 11 years of constantly escaping government agents, writing long letters and tracks for the suffering church in England and refining and revising his translations, William Tindale was cruelly betrayed.
Sam Rohrer: However, his legacy continues within the pages of every English Bible. Isn’t that something ladies, sometimes ladies and gentlemen, it’s worthy for us to go back and look at history because what we assume to be always the case is not always the case at all. Certainly it is with the word of God in our language, Isaac. It was Dale’s work that laid the groundwork for the pilgrims being cast out of England to Holland and then from Holland to the new world. And when I look at this, I am amazed because God was so at work for a long time and remains so today. Now, you’ve done a lot of study Isaac on the Bible and the impact of the Bible that not only on America, but even around the world, you and I were talking about some things this morning about that. Would you share some of what you’ve learned?
Isaac Crockett: Yeah, yeah. We could spend days talking about this, Sam, but it’s so neat and you mentioned David Barton and he often says, he said it on our program before that our fathers of America, they considered their forefathers to be the pilgrims. And so studying them, looking at them and what happened between 1,492 and Christopher Columbus sail the ocean blue to 1620 when the pilgrims came to on the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth Rock, why is there over a century where it seems like nothing is going on? And I believe it was God’s providence and I believe that they came to the part of North America to the part of the Americas, the new world where there wasn’t a lot of riches to be had stealing from the people who were living there and taking gold and all these things. And so I think that providentially guy kept that there for them and they came not to get rich.
Isaac Crockett: They came to have religious freedom. The best value there is, and we were talking with Lee Greenwood earlier in the program. There was a pastor, a John Greenwood, and he was killed. I think it was actually Queen Elizabeth who killed him because of his writings were basically, he said, Jesus is the head of the church, not a king or queen. And so they escaped to, as you mentioned, Holland, and it was the Geneva Bible that this group was using. And the Geneva Bible was kind of like an early study Bible. It was much smaller than some of the other Bibles. It’s still big enough. But because the movable type print and all that with Gutenberg press where they were able to do things much easier and smaller and that Bible came over with them and they looked at that and they saw that we were all created by God and we were created equal in his sight.
Isaac Crockett: And so things like the way they treated the Indians was different than others, the way they treated enslaved people by studying them free, the way that before they got off to settle their community, they said, we need to have a compact just like God gave the commandments. We need to have basically a constitution that we all agree to and we need individual responsibility for what we’re going to do and family responsibility. And they work these things out way differently than other Europeans were doing way differently than even the English down in Jamestown were doing. And all of that goes back to their understanding of the Bible. And of course then they as the forefathers, then their children and great grandchildren and so forth, this continued and we see the Bible, a lot of it, the King James English of the King James Bible and different things incorporated into our documents. But really I do believe that it goes back to the founding fathers, founding fathers, and that’s the pilgrims and their love for the word of God and allowing the word of God to speak when we want true independence, liberty, we want to bless God and God bless us, we turn back to his word and that’s where revival starts.
Sam Rohrer: Isaac, I’m looking right now because I’m going to mention a bit more of this on the program on Thursday, but you mentioned the pilgrims there actually, they were holding Geneva Bible a lot. That King James you mentioned became the real underpinning of really what the principles of our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and all of that. But the pilgrims, I’m looking here at a part of the Mayflower Compact, you referred to that when the pilgrims came, ladies and gentlemen, did you know that they came as Isaac? I said, not for gold, as did those in the Jamestown settlement in Virginia, but they came for God. Here’s just a few of the opening words that confirms again what we’re saying. The Mayflower Compact, the first organic document of law of these United States. It says this in the name of God. Amen. Then they say, having undertaken for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith and the honor of our king and country, and then they go on and to write the document, it was for the spread of the gospel and to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord that the pilgrims came and the word of God was absolutely essential.
Sam Rohrer: The foundation document, it was important then. It is important now. Stay with us. We’ll come back and Isaac and I’ll talk about, well, we’ll talk about the word of God and how we should be observing it today. Well, Isaac, that’s been a pretty interesting program today. It’s been a pleasure to have you on and talk through these things as we were able to talk with Lee Greenwood at the beginning of the program and in the last segment kind of track the history of the English Bible and how in these few hundreds of years it went from the Bible went from, well, not available at all and illegal where people were actually killed. Isn’t that amazing? Killed by religious leaders. Sounds like the Pharisees of Christ Day for having a Bible or for reading the Bible or attempting to translate it because we just have no idea how blessed we are in these days.
Sam Rohrer: So anyway, I’m just thinking these things through. I’m interested in your thoughts because when I read that part about William Tindale Isaac, I thought about this for nearly 1500 years, for nearly 1500 years close to that after the resurrection of Christ, the world did not have an available Bible holding the word of God an amazing thing. How would we respond if we didn’t have the Bible that we could go to in our hands? But now we do have the word of God. But now it’s so prevalent, but I’m not so sure that people read it anymore. I don’t know than in those days when they didn’t have the Bible. But anyways, share with us, Isaac, some of your thoughts on this, but also what the Bible says about the importance of reading it, memorizing it, living it out. I mean, we talk all the time about a biblical worldview. Can’t have a biblical worldview unless we know what the Bible says. But why isn’t understanding what we’re talking about here is so important, particularly today here in 2024.
Isaac Crockett: We’re asking God for a revival. We want God to bless us, but we need to bless God. And you can’t have a revival without God’s word. In the Old Testament, the prophets would give the word of God, we have the old and the New Testaments together, and it’s given to us in a language that was usable in those days that was kind of advanced technology, if you would. And you’re talking about tendo, just think about the fascinating, how fascinating is how things evolved, so to speak, technologically wise. It’s the technology of printing. I mean, historians say that it would take over 500 sheep, maybe 600 sheep, that would have to be butchered meat sold and take the skins of those to use the vellum of that to have a Bible from. So you’d have to be wealthy enough to buy a whole huge flock of sheep, then hire somebody that could take them years sometimes to copy this onto the leather, just to have a family Bible, many say would be equivalent to a quarter of a million to half a million dollars just to have a Bible.
Isaac Crockett: And so that’s why I say it’s incredibly providential that the pilgrims came to America when they did with the invention of newer types of printing presses, even the older presses that weren’t as easy to do things, that they had the Gutenberg press that they could have a Bible like the Geneva Bible that was more compact and could have commentary on it. But Dale, they say that he had to get sheets, a few sheets from different printers. Nobody was allowed to print the Bible. Some of ’em were brave enough to print a few sheets of it for him, and then he would take those and hide them and just the incredible amount of difficulty to get a copy of the Bible. And then yet he still gave his life for it. And now we have it on our cell phones. We have bibles all over the house.
Isaac Crockett: We take it for granted in America and in much of the world. And yet it is something that if we would just take the time to read it, to study it. Psalm one talks about the blessed man that meditates on it day and night. Psalm 19 talks about seeing God in his creation, and then it goes on and talks about his revelation through the word of God. His laws are more to be desired than gold. Ye the much fine gold sweeter also than the honey right out of the honeycomb. They’re more to be desired than anything. Second Peter chapter one says that according to God’s divine power, he has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that called us to glory virtue through that knowledge, we are called through scripture for everything we need for life.
Isaac Crockett: And Paul said in two Timothy three 16 that all scripture is given by inspiration through the Holy Spirit. And he says, all scripture is good for teaching us, for doctrine, for teaching, for reproof, for correction and instruction and righteousness. The word of God is important. It’s necessary. We need it individually. We need it as families. We need it as churches. We need it as a nation. And if we’re wanting to return to God, we need to return to His word so that his word can awaken. The Holy Spirit that inspired the word of God will grab ahold of us and empower us to understand it and through the power of salvation, through Jesus Christ to be redeemed and to live it out in His power, not on our own. And so we need it. We desperately need to open those bibles or to open up our apps on our phones and use the word of God. We have this great technology. We have this miraculous word of God. Now we need to let it get ahold of us.
Sam Rohrer: Isaac. And I’m thinking in regard to that, that we talk on this program a lot at ladies and gentlemen talking to you directly as well as you’re listening to us about the authority of scripture. Do we not? Why is that? Well, because there is no other truth. There is no truth outside the written word of God. God is the author of truth. God’s word is the embodiment of written truth. And Jesus Christ, we know when he came said, I am the way and the truth. He was the bodily manifestation of truth. Now, think about that in our hands. We can hold now the complete word of God. The Old Testament saints had the Old Testament. They never heard of the New Testament. They didn’t know really other than prophecies relating to the coming of the Messiah and what things would be like in the future at the time when Christ came.
Sam Rohrer: Then he came as the physical embodiment of truth and he taught, and those early disciples and apostles wrote down that truth. And then the Holy Spirit communicated to them more truth ending up in the writing of the revelation of John, the prophecy about what is well yet ahead of us. All of that was put together. And now we have the complete word of God. Old Testament looking forward to Christ, first coming, looking ahead to Christ, second coming. And now here we are very close to the end of the church age, the time where Christ will complete the building of his church, as he said he would and will move in to the days that he speaks about in Revelation and other books about the focus returning on Israel and God’s completing his plan of redemption, which he said was going to happen through the Jewish people, through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their children.
Sam Rohrer: And from that came Christ, and from that came salvation to us, the Gentiles. Most of us listening are Gentiles, not Jews, and brings us up to the point where we are right now. When we look back in time, I’m just giving some thoughts. I only have about a minute left, but I think it’s interesting because in these days we have too many people. It bothers me a great deal when we have people saying, we will make America great again. I’m not speaking against any one individual. I’m talking about a mentality that exists, ladies and gentlemen. You ever think about it? Did any person make America great again or make America great in the first place? Did any man really move the people of the world and move the Dales of the world and move the pilgrims of the world and the puritans who followed them and others who came after them and our founding fathers and the first great awakening, the second great awakening, did any man think that out and do it?
Sam Rohrer: Not a chance God did it. God moved in our midst and God blessed us here. And all of that is in the word of God. So in these days of need, if we want to be blessed again, where do we go? We should go the word of God, and that’s where we encourage you to go there. Today, the word of God, the greatest asset. We have the Bible. Read it, underline it, memorize it, and live it out. Return to God, return to his word. That’s our encouragement and how we want to leave this program with you today. Think about it, pray about it, and enjoy this week Independence Day, understanding that well, liberty is first found in Christ.
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