Ed Vitagliano, AFA Executive Vice President steps in “The Corner.”

Transcribed with OpenAI Whisper (base.en). Timestamps are approximate. Lightly cleaned for readability; quotations from on-air callers may include filler words. Use the audio player above for the authoritative recording.

1. 0:00Darkness is not an affirmative force.
2. 0:02It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.
3. 0:06This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.
4. 0:10It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite.
5. 0:15Delivery people out of the bondage of mainstream media.
6. 0:18And the philosophies of this world.
7. 0:20God has called you and me to be his ambassador.
8. 0:23Even in this dark moment.
9. 0:26Let's not miss our moment.
10. 0:28And now the Hamilton Corner.
11. 0:31Good evening, everyone.
12. 0:33Welcome to the Hamilton Corner here on American Family Radio.
13. 0:36I am your host, Abraham Hamilton III.
14. 0:39Thank you to each and every one of you for tuning in to the program, wherever you are,
15. 0:43however you are tuning in, the live radio listeners, the podcast listeners, the live
16. 0:50video stream viewers, the television show watchers.
17. 0:55However you're tuning into the program, thank you for doing so.
18. 0:58We are grateful that you've made the decision to hang out here with us in the corner.
19. 1:03There are so many different outlets, so many voices available to you, but you've
20. 1:08chosen to be here and we are grateful for that, not only grateful for it, but we want
21. 1:15to make it worthwhile for you to do so.
22. 1:19Abraham Hamilton III here, my man, Jay Mack is in studio.
23. 1:22He ain't scared of me in studio today.
24. 1:25Produced extraordinary, often imitated, never duplicated, and we're ready to rock and roll with today's edition of the program at this very moment.
25. 1:33Many of you, if not most of you, are making your transitions from your part-time jobs, where you generate an income to your full-time jobs, where you cultivate an outcome.
26. 1:43You heard me right.
27. 1:44Income generation is a part-time gig.
28. 1:47Outcome cultivation is a full-time reality.
29. 1:50And this is not merely my opinion.
30. 1:53This is what the word of God bears out for us.
31. 1:55If you are in Christ, every believer is called to be a proponent and execute
32. 2:01or of his commission.
33. 2:04The unfortunate reality is for too long, we have viewed the Lord's ministry
34. 2:08as if it is a spectator sport.
35. 2:11You know, we get our favorite player and we cheer them on, pass it so and so,
36. 2:15preach it so and so.
37. 2:17But the truth is every believer is called to ministry.
38. 2:20Every joint is supposed to supply.
39. 2:22The reality is that the Lord's church is not a building.
40. 2:26It's made up of people.
41. 2:28People comprise the Lord's church.
42. 2:31And one of the foremost iterations,
43. 2:33the foremost outposts, if you will,
44. 2:37for the call to ministry is within the family.
45. 2:40The first human institution that God established
46. 2:42was the family before there was an order of priests
47. 2:45or an order of prophets before there was a New Testament church,
48. 2:48before there was a modern iteration of civil government.
49. 2:50The first human institution that God ordained is the family.
50. 2:54The first command that God gave to mankind was in within the familial context.
51. 2:59All of that is instructive for us because the reality is we will never be able to out-politik.
52. 3:07You heard me right? We will never be able to out-politik.
53. 3:10And I know we just had an election. Hear me. We'll never be able to out-politik deficiencies
54. 3:17in the family. We'll never be able to out-church, frankly.
55. 3:21deficiencies within the family.
56. 3:24So those of you who are listening to me
57. 3:26let today be the day,
58. 3:28that you batten down the hatches at home.
59. 3:30And remember that God knows the stations of life
60. 3:32that we are all in,
61. 3:34and he knows that we have people who are tuned
62. 3:36into this program right now,
63. 3:37who are in various stages of life.
64. 3:39But none of that takes away from the fact
65. 3:42that the family is the first institution that God established.
66. 3:46And faithfulness in the family will only transpire
67. 3:50when there is faithfulness within the individuals
68. 3:53who comprise the family.
69. 3:56So let today be today, make today the day
70. 3:59that we batten down the hatches at home.
71. 4:01We serve our Lord and King with faithfulness,
72. 4:04remembering that worship is a lifestyle.
73. 4:06It's not limited to any particular activity.
74. 4:09Worship is a lifestyle.
75. 4:11This lifestyle of worship includes a host of activities.
76. 4:17But remember worship is a lifestyle in the pinnacle.
77. 4:20The zenith, the climax of this lifestyle of worship is obedience.
78. 4:25We cannot profess to be worshipers of the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit and truth.
79. 4:31While we live persistent, rebellious, disobedient lifestyles, those two do not
80. 4:38comport the pinnacle of the lifestyle of worship is obedience.
81. 4:43The word of God we go.
82. 4:45We'll start the program today.
83. 4:46in 1 Chronicles 12.
84. 4:48First Chronicles 12.
85. 4:51This particular chapter,
86. 4:55the events that are taking place contextually in this chapter,
87. 4:59this is when the nation of Israel is making its decision
88. 5:03as to whether or not David will be its king.
89. 5:07You'll recall the first king of the unified nation of Israel
90. 5:10was Saul, the Lord rejected Saul
91. 5:16because of Saul's persistent disobedience
92. 5:18and rebellion against him.
93. 5:20The Lord found in David a man
94. 5:21after his own heart as he's described in the New Testament.
95. 5:25But the way the factual circumstances unfolded
96. 5:28is that the Southern Kingdom of Judah
97. 5:30made David King first,
98. 5:33while the Northern Kingdom did not recognize David as King.
99. 5:38And so the move was a foot for David to be made King
100. 5:42of all of the unified nation of Israel.
101. 5:45And you had some tribes of Israel that were fighting mad about it.
102. 5:49They were loyal to Saul and they were willing at that juncture to go to war, to go to a civil
103. 5:54war in order to prevent David's monarchy over the whole nation.
104. 6:02But as God would have it, the Lord had others who were in line with him by his spirit, in
105. 6:09line with his spirit, in the scripture notes of one tribe in particular, the sons of Issachar
106. 6:15This is a very popular, popular verse, but the context is often neglected when we navigate
107. 6:22this verse.
108. 6:23But the word of God says this, 1 Chronicles 12, verse 32, of Isakar men who had understanding
109. 6:33of the times to know what Israel ought to do.
110. 6:39200 chiefs and all their kinsmen under their command of
111. 6:44Zebulun 50,000 season troops equipped for battle with all the weapons of war to help David
112. 6:51with Singleness of purpose
113. 6:54King James says who were not of double heart
114. 6:57Who are not of double heart?
115. 7:00What any sb says who did not have who were had undivided hearts?
116. 7:05So you had when this is something that you'll see all throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures, that where Isecar is usually mentioned next to Zebulin.
117. 7:15Isecar has a particularly unique relationship with Zebulin. Isecar over time is a tribe that was known for having its tribesmen dedicated to Torah study.
118. 7:28study. Whereas Zebulin was a tribe over time that is recognized as an economically savvy
119. 7:36tribe, lots of businessmen, lots of economic interests. Over time, Torah scholars and in
120. 7:44biblical scholars, Hebrew Bible scholars were known as zebulins. They would give them that
121. 7:49moniker because the understanding was that the financial prowess pursued by the tribe of
122. 7:54the Zebulan created the economic environment for the try for the Isekar Torah men to have
123. 8:00their study. Okay. But here the scripture says that the sons of Isekar included men who had
124. 8:09understanding of the times and knew what Israel needed to do. That ultimate understanding was
125. 8:18to bring David to the throne with singleness of purpose or with an undivided heart. I
126. 8:24I bring this scripture to your attention
127. 8:26because similar to that time period,
128. 8:28we are in a time now where we need men and women
129. 8:33of understanding who know what the Lord is requiring
130. 8:39of his body in our nation, who know what we must do.
131. 8:46You know, I do not mean to frustrate anyone
132. 8:49and there will be a time where we'll do more detailed
133. 8:53conversations about Trump's cabinet nominations and who this
134. 9:01person is is their background. This is this has been their
135. 9:04political involvement, things of that nature. But I truly, truly,
136. 9:07truly believe that the most important thing that needs to be
137. 9:09done in this moment is to call God's people to our faces in
138. 9:14prayer and to our feet in working to proclaim the Gospel of
139. 9:23Jesus Christ to our fellow countrymen, the gospel that is still as potent to save today
140. 9:30as it has always been to call the people of God into great commission execution to make
141. 9:38disciples.
142. 9:39You heard Dr. Barna earlier this week say that, you know, evangelism without discipleship
143. 9:43is spiritual abuse.
144. 9:44That's what he said.
145. 9:46That's what he just what he said.
146. 9:49That when you trace the trajectory of our nation and you, you know, you reduce things to
147. 9:54It's lowest common denominator.
148. 9:56And the most desperate need in America is repentance, man.
149. 10:01We have been an exceedingly wicked nation.
150. 10:05And God granting us mercy is just that mercy.
151. 10:10It's not that we've earned it or we've deserved it.
152. 10:16And while I am with you in celebrating,
153. 10:20oh God, thank you for your mercy.
154. 10:23I am sobered, sobered by the fact that God has provided us
155. 10:27and I'm convicted to respond appropriately to this grant of mercy.
156. 10:37You know, I was having a conversation with a brother,
157. 10:40this week, a brother in Christ, and he said,
158. 10:41you know, I've been a Christian for nearly 50 years,
159. 10:46and I've never heard anybody direct me
160. 10:50to the scriptural mandate to make disciples,
161. 10:53Lord, teach me how to do it.
162. 10:57I've been in church for 50 years.
163. 10:59Did I say 40 the first time on 50 years?
164. 11:05I say 50, right? Yeah, that's what he said.
165. 11:08And I never heard this.
166. 11:10Guys, that's a grievous indictment.
167. 11:14That's an indictment.
168. 11:18We cannot misconstrue and misinterpret where we are.
169. 11:22We need to be able to understand where we are,
170. 11:24and we must respond appropriately.
171. 11:27We must, we must, we must respond appropriately.
172. 11:33Crying out to the Lord for our country
173. 11:35is not something that should end
174. 11:36because of we just had an election.
175. 11:40We've entered into a new phase of American history guys,
176. 11:43a new phase.
177. 11:45And you look at the word history, it's his story.
178. 11:48Now he's the central feature in his grand drama.
179. 11:53And you probably can detect a bit of sobriety on my voice
180. 11:58because I'm greatly concerned that there are many
181. 12:01who are misunderstanding.
182. 12:06And I truly do not want this to happen.
183. 12:10So let us continue to cry out to God for our nation,
184. 12:15not because we want continued access to creature conference,
185. 12:20not because our primary focus is on entertainment
186. 12:23and consumption, whether it be food consumption
187. 12:26or material consumption,
188. 12:29but because our heart beats for what his heart beats for,
189. 12:34that we love what he loves, we loathe what he loathe.
190. 12:38We recognize it in our fellow countrymen
191. 12:39that these are people who have eternal souls
192. 12:43that hang in the balance.
193. 12:44And we have this hungering and thirst to please our Lord,
194. 12:52to obey Him, and we are overwhelmed and gratitude
195. 13:00for the opportunity of having our lives
196. 13:04shaped according to His purposes and according to His will.
197. 13:08Of Isakar, men who had understanding of the times
198. 13:14to know what Israel ought to do,
199. 13:18200 chiefs and all their kinsmen under their command.
200. 13:22Obsebulant, 50,000 seasoned troops,
201. 13:26equipped for battle with all the weapons of war
202. 13:29to help David with singleness of purpose.
203. 13:36My prayer for us and our country
204. 13:41is that we as Nehemiah records would have a mind to work,
205. 13:44that we would have a singleness of purpose,
206. 13:47that we would have a zeal, we would have a passion,
207. 13:51we would have a commitment to fulfill what God has placed before us in this moment.
208. 14:01Who are you pouring into?
209. 14:03Are you discipling anyone?
210. 14:05Are you being discipled by anyone?
211. 14:09It is the Lord's desire for His witness to be established multi-generationally.
212. 14:18And that if you are a believer as I am, the Lord desires for us to be outposts through
213. 14:23home and through which his commission is fulfilled.
214. 14:33Thanks be to God for his mercy.
215. 14:36It demonstrates that God is not finished with our country, but it's a coming upon us that
216. 14:41we refuse to misunderstand the moment that we're in and that we respond accordingly.
217. 14:47Sons of His Akhara understood the times and knew what Israel ought to do.
218. 14:51My prayers for the Sons of Christ in America won't understand our time and what we must do.
219. 15:00As the world is changing around us, the ministry of AFA is staying anchored in God.
220. 15:06If the Lord has gifted you to be a giver, we ask that you remember AFA in your year-end
221. 15:10giving.
222. 15:12As a good steward, you know the tax advantages of year-end giving.
223. 15:15There's a variety of options for giving, ranging from cash gifts to stock donation to real estate.
224. 15:21Some of the more creative gifts have earlier tax deadlines, so why not contact a representative
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226. 15:31They can help you set up your donation now and make it effective by the proper date.
227. 15:36Call 800-326-4543, extension 345.
228. 15:41That's 800-326-4543, extension 345.
229. 15:47Your support is key to our ministry in Jesus' name.
230. 15:51Read the Rush by calling now 800-326-4543, extension 345.
231. 15:57I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
232. 16:06The life that I now live in this body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave
233. 16:12himself for me.
234. 16:13Galatians 220.
235. 16:15American Family Radio
236. 16:16Shiting light into the darkness, this is the Hamilton Quarter, an American family radio.
237. 16:30Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner, Abraham Hamilton, the third here and I'm excited to
238. 16:34have in studio, my guest in studio is none other than the executive vice president for the American
239. 16:40Family Association, Ed Vittagliano.
240. 16:43You can hear Ed Daly, not Daly, weekdays on today's issues where he is co-host of today's
241. 16:50issues on the American Family Radio Network.
242. 16:52He is a husband, a father of two adult children.
243. 16:56He has five grandchildren.
244. 16:57He's been in ministry since 1982.
245. 17:00Please join me in welcoming our guest,
246. 17:02Ed Vitegliano.
247. 17:04Yeah, it's great to be here, Abe.
248. 17:06Thank you so much.
249. 17:07Oh, no, the pleasure certainly is mine,
250. 17:09and I truly believe it'll be our listeners and viewers'
251. 17:12pleasure as well as we go through what we're going to talk about.
252. 17:16Because we have something coming up next summer,
253. 17:19June 12th through the 14th, 2025,
254. 17:22it's called the Activate Summit,
255. 17:24which will take place in Tupelo, Mississippi
256. 17:25at the Kingsbank Conference Center,
257. 17:28Conference Center, yeah, in Tupelo, Mississippi.
258. 17:31So I wanted to have a conversation with you about that
259. 17:33because you will be one of the plenary session presenters
260. 17:37for the Activate Summit.
261. 17:39What can people expect when they come to Tupelo next summer?
262. 17:42Well, first of all, Activate is an in-depth
263. 17:46worldview training curriculum.
264. 17:49And we designed that.
265. 17:51This is Wesley Weilman's kind of brainchild
266. 17:55because he had, every time he goes to events where he interacts with our supporters,
267. 18:03they were consistently, constantly saying, we need more training. We need more training on the
268. 18:10worldview issues that the church is facing. And so, probably for four years, Wesley worked on
269. 18:18kind of getting this activate curriculum together. And we can talk more about that curriculum,
270. 18:25but what we also wanted to do each summer was to have an activate summit conference where people
271. 18:35can come and gather and hear speakers address one of the topics that the curriculum addresses,
272. 18:43but do so in depth. So it's almost like additional training for people who want to even go deeper
273. 18:50into the topics that we're going to be covering in the curriculum.
274. 18:54And I know the theme for the 2025 summit, activate summit, is biblical bedrock building on the authority
275. 19:04of scripture, which I know you know, and I share, but I want you to invite you to just
276. 19:09is expounded upon fire, audience here,
277. 19:13why is it so important to have the proper bedrock
278. 19:17as the authority of scripture?
279. 19:18Well, I think it's fair to say
280. 19:21that every problem is at its heart a theological problem
281. 19:28or involves a theological issue.
282. 19:30So I'm speaking about the struggles we all have
283. 19:33as Christians, the struggles that are in common
284. 19:36or the ones that are in particular
285. 19:38to each individual Christian.
286. 19:40Some struggle with this, some struggle with something else.
287. 19:43That is at its core, a theological question or issue.
288. 19:48Marriages, families, churches, communities, countries,
289. 19:54things that are going on in the world at their heart
290. 19:57are theological issues.
291. 19:59Because it all has to do with how we view God.
292. 20:04Does He exist?
293. 20:05Does He care what we do?
294. 20:07Has He issued commands?
295. 20:08Are we answerable to him?
296. 20:10Will there be a judgment?
297. 20:12How am I supposed to interact with my neighbor?
298. 20:16All these things are theological issues,
299. 20:19which means that the Word of God is so critical
300. 20:24to a proper understanding of ourselves
301. 20:29and the world in which we live.
302. 20:30So American Family Association, American Family Radio,
303. 20:33I know you do in your show.
304. 20:36we try to touch on political and cultural issues,
305. 20:39issues related to education, et cetera.
306. 20:42And we'd come at that from a Christian perspective
307. 20:46because the word speaks to these moral and cultural issues.
308. 20:51And we increasingly see, even in the church,
309. 20:55a detachment from the word of God.
310. 20:58It's very disappointing to see this in the church,
311. 21:03but if we can't get it right there,
312. 21:05All right, then how do we expect the world to live,
313. 21:09the people in the world to live their lives in a way
314. 21:11that is pleasing to God, let alone,
315. 21:14how do we get these individuals into the kingdom of God?
316. 21:18It's amazing.
317. 21:19We had our small group, discipleship group this week,
318. 21:24and we're at the phase to where we're having other members
319. 21:29of the group to have opportunities to lead the group.
320. 21:32And one of the brothers just this week was just overwhelmed
321. 21:35the amazing evidence we have for the authority of scripture, you know, and just, and for the
322. 21:42fact that it is God's Word, it's the most verified book from antiquity and in seeing that, and
323. 21:48witnessing the confidence that we can have in God's Word. But it's also a responsibility,
324. 21:55because once you recognize, wait a minute, when we look into the 66th canonical books,
325. 22:00this is the word of God.
326. 22:02It demands respect, but it also demands a response.
327. 22:06Absolutely.
328. 22:06I have a friend who I've worked with here
329. 22:09at American Family Association.
330. 22:11I came here in 1996, Rusty Benson,
331. 22:15who was the associate editor of the AFA Journal.
332. 22:19That's the name of the magazine,
333. 22:20our monthly magazine when I first came here.
334. 22:22It's now called The Stand magazine.
335. 22:26But he said something once just, what decades ago?
336. 22:29He said, we should always let the Word of God interrogate our lives.
337. 22:34Now, you come and are our general counsel, but you come from that world of prosecution
338. 22:41and defense attorneys.
339. 22:43And I always love that way of looking at the Word of God.
340. 22:49Of course, it brings great comfort to us and great healing, but we let it interrogate our
341. 22:54lives because it is the Word of God. So we have the responsibility to respond to it and
342. 23:01to respond to it with a believing heart and a heart of humility that increasingly as any
343. 23:10individual knows who's been a Christian for any length of time, you come to Christ thinking
344. 23:18of yourself one way and the longer you walk with the Lord and the longer you engage with
345. 23:24the word, the more clearly you see yourself. And we all have to figure out how we're going
346. 23:32to respond to that picture we get. You know, James says, the Word of God is like a mirror.
347. 23:38And we want to be doers of the word, not merely here is because we don't want to be like a person
348. 23:44who goes to the mirror first thing in the morning, sees what a mess they are, and then fails to
349. 23:50to make the adjustments necessary to go out in public.
350. 23:53And the word of God is that mirror.
351. 23:55And once it shows me what I really am,
352. 24:00I have to respond in a way that engages with it,
353. 24:04even if I don't like what I see.
354. 24:08It's so true.
355. 24:10It is so true.
356. 24:11And you mentioned that much of what we confront in issues
357. 24:15that are maybe even societal deficiencies at their core,
358. 24:19theological issues, but what has happened by and large, and I know it's a
359. 24:24satanic attack ultimately, but he's used instruments and people and others to
360. 24:30attack, to a sale, the authority of the word of God. Where we're living in a
361. 24:33generation now, the most biblically illiterate generation in American history.
362. 24:40From my viewpoint, I can clearly see how we're witnessing as societal
363. 24:47degradation that it it flows almost in sync with the biblical literacy that is prevalent in our society.
364. 24:55So this notion of the biblical bedrock as being the first of the activate
365. 25:00summer summit meetings seems to be not only providential but vitally necessary to confront what's
366. 25:08ailing our country at the time. Well absolutely couldn't agree more and you know we all if people
367. 25:14People have heard sermons about the Word of God.
368. 25:17They've probably heard this.
369. 25:18This is not groundbreaking.
370. 25:20And most of the time we don't, if we're looking for something groundbreaking and we get tired
371. 25:26of hearing the Word of God preached and taught from the pulpit, you know, people might sometimes
372. 25:33think, well, it's the same old thing.
373. 25:34Is there anything new?
374. 25:35Well, the fact of the matter is it may not be new, but it's necessary.
375. 25:41So what I'm about to say is probably one of those things where people will go, might roll
376. 25:46their eyes and say, heard it a thousand times.
377. 25:49But the very first temptation in the scripture, the very first interaction we see between humans
378. 25:57and the forces of darkness, Satan in the form of a serpent entering the garden, his approach
379. 26:08to humanity back then and today is to begin by questioning God's word.
380. 26:15Has God really set?
381. 26:17And again, I know people have heard this, but that question and the doubt that it brings
382. 26:24opens the door to disobedience.
383. 26:27And it is, it is the, it may be the simplest thing.
384. 26:31It may be something we've heard a thousand times, but it is the way the spiritual world
385. 26:37operates. And so Satan will always attack the word of God because that is the first step
386. 26:46in loosening and detaching humanity from the purposes of God, from the love of God, from the truth of God,
387. 26:55and from there darkness begins its work. And we see the consequences of that in destroyed lives,
388. 27:04destroyed marriages, families, communities, churches, and nations begin to disintegrate
389. 27:11when that foundation exists.
390. 27:14Now let me just quickly say in some societies, in some countries, that foundation was never
391. 27:21laid.
392. 27:22Those countries, that's important to point out, existed in darkness and have existed in darkness.
393. 27:27But for us, this country, as you said, the most biblically illiterate generation in American
394. 27:33history, this country was formed with an eye to having biblical foundations for it, and
395. 27:42those are eroding in a place that once had them.
396. 27:45And that's different than a country that started off and has remained in pitch darkness.
397. 27:51That's so true.
398. 27:53What do you see as some of the, I would say most prominent implications from that?
399. 27:59Because for countries who never had it, then you know what you never had.
400. 28:03but to have had it and to allow, participate in its erosion,
401. 28:10it's gotta have a different implication, impact.
402. 28:12Yeah, and I think that's why when we read the Old Testament,
403. 28:16we see that God, it says in the book of Acts,
404. 28:19that God overlooked the times of ignorance in the past,
405. 28:25and God at most times seemed to treat the nation
406. 28:30of Israel differently than he treated the nations around them because those nations by and large did
407. 28:38not have the light of God. Now sometimes God sent that light into that pitch black darkness, for example,
408. 28:46by sending Jonah to Nineveh. And there was the kind of torch light that Israel held up to the nations
409. 28:54around them, but it seems like God dealt with those nations in a different way than Israel,
410. 29:01who had the oracles of God, who had the law of God, and who had the prophets.
411. 29:06And that's why there were times when God through his prophets just said, have you ever heard of a
412. 29:14nation doing this? Have you ever heard of a nation that has been rescued as God has rescued Israel
413. 29:20than turning to other gods.
414. 29:23So there does seem to be an additional responsibility laid on those who have had the light presented
415. 29:31to them but have rejected it.
416. 29:34And Jesus in fact put it this way when he was preaching the gospel here physically present
417. 29:40with us in Israel and cities would reject him and Jesus would say, you know what, on the
418. 29:47day of judgment, it's going to go better for Sodom and Gomorrah than you because if they had seen
419. 29:54what you have seen, they would have repented and remained to this day. That may be one of the most
420. 29:59stunning things I've ever read in the gospel when the gospels, as deep and dark as the wickedness was
421. 30:09in Sodom and Gomorrah, Jesus said if they had seen it, they would have repented and those cities would
422. 30:15of remain to this day, but because you, Corzine Bessata, some of these other cities, you saw
423. 30:22the Son of God, you saw these miracles, you heard this teaching, and yet you turned away.
424. 30:27I mean, that's the frightening part of what has happened in America in having the light and turning
425. 30:36away from it. Oh man, that is so profound. Can you give us a preview, if you will, of what you will
426. 30:44be presenting at the activate summit. I don't give it all away because they got a register
427. 30:48and come. Right. But just a preview. I mean, what you said just now, which is so sobering,
428. 30:55it's provoking and I'm going to be chewing on that. But if you would, could you give us
429. 31:00a preview of what you're going to present at the summit? Absolutely. So I begin with Exodus
430. 31:0532, we're all kind of familiar with the scene where Moses is getting the 10 commandments.
431. 31:10The people of Israel corrupt themselves.
432. 31:13That's what God tells Moses, Moses go down.
433. 31:15The people have corrupted themselves with idolatry.
434. 31:18It's gonna be a long struggle for Israel throughout its history.
435. 31:21And when Moses goes down, he makes this startling,
436. 31:26you talk about drawing a line in the sand,
437. 31:28he said, those who are on the Lord's side come unto me
438. 31:32and the rest are gonna be on the other side of that line.
439. 31:36So I start off there and I basically state
440. 31:39that human history has seen the division of humanity
441. 31:46into those who love the light of God,
442. 31:49who love the word of God and come to it.
443. 31:52You can toss in Romans one here, John chapter three,
444. 31:57where people who love the light of God come to it.
445. 32:01So we'll kind of lay out how that division has happened,
446. 32:05the importance, the critical importance
447. 32:07of apostolic teaching that we have in the New Testament
448. 32:11and how we approach the teaching of the apostles
449. 32:14as coming up to that dividing line.
450. 32:17Do we want God?
451. 32:18Then we come onto Him and we respond to the word accordingly.
452. 32:23You do not want to miss this summit,
453. 32:26activate summit June 12th through the 14th, 2025.
454. 32:30This next summer at the Kings Bank Conference Center
455. 32:32in Tupelo, Mississippi, to register,
456. 32:35go to activate.afa.net
457. 32:38slash summit that's activate
458. 32:40dot a F A dot net slash
459. 32:42summit. And there is an early
460. 32:44bird registration where you get
461. 32:45a 20% discount if you
462. 32:47register between now and
463. 32:49January 1st 2025 who just
464. 32:50entered the discount code
465. 32:52early bird 20. Hamilton
466. 33:04quarter podcast and one
467. 33:06minute commentaries are
468. 33:07available at a F R dot net
469. 33:09back to the Hamilton
470. 33:10quarter on American family
471. 33:12radio. Welcome back to the
472. 33:14Hamilton Corner, Abraham Hamilton the third here in studio with AFA executive vice president
473. 33:20Ed Vittagliano we are talking about the AFA activate summit coming next summer which is
474. 33:25built around the biblical worldview curriculum the activate curriculum but before we went to
475. 33:31the break you were sharing and this is this is so profound and I was still chewing on it
476. 33:36during the break what you said about Jesus's instruction really really a rebuke saying that
477. 33:42that, you know, Poseida and Coors, and if, if, if Sodom and Gomorrah had seen what you've
478. 33:46seen, that heard what you heard, that had access to the teaching that you have, that you had
479. 33:50access to, those cities would have repented.
480. 33:53It would still be here to date.
481. 33:56That, that is, that is a striking statement to make.
482. 34:00And it really has gives a glimpse into what really we should consider when those people
483. 34:06might say, well, America is beyond the capacity of a God to redeem us.
484. 34:10I think the scripture has some guidance source on that point.
485. 34:13Yeah, so the flip side of that as sobering as those words are, and they should be sobering,
486. 34:21because you don't, it is very unwise to shake a fist at God and to continue on in your rebellion.
487. 34:30So that should be sobering.
488. 34:32And that applies to individuals as well as nations.
489. 34:36But the flip side is what Jesus is saying is the power of the gospel to save even cities
490. 34:46like Sodom and Gomorrah.
491. 34:48The power of that gospel means that nobody, no nation, technically speaking, is beyond
492. 34:57the grace of God.
493. 34:59no individual is beyond the grace of God to have a life that is completely degenerate,
494. 35:08that is completely bound up with sin. No life is beyond the reach of God because what Jesus
495. 35:17is saying is that the power of the gospel, the power of the gospel that is anointed by
496. 35:25the Holy Spirit can save everyone.
497. 35:27We know Jesus makes one exception,
498. 35:30blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
499. 35:32But everything else can be turned around.
500. 35:34And so we read in 1 Corinthians 6, the Apostle Paul,
501. 35:39making one of his lists of sins that the practice
502. 35:44of which will keep someone from entering the kingdom.
503. 35:48But Paul says, and such were some of you.
504. 35:51You are completely bound up in darkness,
505. 35:54and yet the gospel, you heard the gospel,
506. 35:57you believed the gospel, and you reached out
507. 36:01to receive that hand from heaven.
508. 36:04And so I just wanna encourage people that are listening.
509. 36:08They may think they have failed so many times
510. 36:10and God is done with them.
511. 36:13That's not what our Savior is saying to these cities.
512. 36:17There's a warning, but then there is the hope
513. 36:20of the grace of God.
514. 36:22And for people who are hearing that right now,
515. 36:26don't assume that that grace is available tomorrow,
516. 36:31or that you're alive tomorrow to receive it.
517. 36:34Receive it now and give your heart to Christ,
518. 36:36because that power can save you
519. 36:38in today's The Day of Salvation.
520. 36:39Oh man, that is so good.
521. 36:41It's so good and it's so true.
522. 36:44And it really punctuates the moment that I believe
523. 36:49that we're in as a country,
524. 36:51because a lot of people have lots of conversations
525. 36:54and on my program,
526. 36:56and I know some people might have been more eager
527. 36:58for me to get into Trump's appointments,
528. 36:59get into this,
529. 37:00and what I have been saying is that one,
530. 37:03we need to be overwhelmed and gratitude for God's mercy.
531. 37:07I shudder to speak for God,
532. 37:11as if I know the totality of his mind,
533. 37:13other than what he's revealed in scripture,
534. 37:15but it appears very clear that God has given us grace
535. 37:18and space primarily for his church in our country
536. 37:22to be active in proclaiming what you've just shared.
537. 37:28Dr. George Barner said on my program,
538. 37:32this week that 78% of the votes
539. 37:34that President Trump received came from Christians
540. 37:37varying denominations and things of that nature,
541. 37:39but of the things that were primarily their concerns
542. 37:42based on exit polling,
543. 37:44it was things like personal security, finances,
544. 37:47And what else did he say?
545. 37:50Loss of personal freedoms,
546. 37:52but it didn't include anything about the gospel,
547. 37:54it didn't include anything about disciple making,
548. 37:56which is pretty interesting to note.
549. 37:59So when you see what's happening in our country,
550. 38:02particularly on the civic front,
551. 38:04in light of what you just shared
552. 38:06about no one is beyond God's saving power,
553. 38:10the gospel of Jesus Christ's proclamation,
554. 38:13what do you see happening in our nation
555. 38:15in light of those events?
556. 38:16Well, first of all, and this maybe,
557. 38:19this is probably gonna be hard to hear, okay?
558. 38:23But for those who are listening, ask yourself why,
559. 38:28I absolutely agree with you.
560. 38:30There seems to be something divine going on in America.
561. 38:36And you know, whether we're talking about last summer,
562. 38:39the summer before, what happened on college campuses,
563. 38:43not just Christian schools, but even state schools,
564. 38:47something's going on, but ask yourself this question,
565. 38:51why do I want God to save America?
566. 38:55If the answer to that question is only,
567. 38:59I'm not saying this is an illegitimate reason
568. 39:01for wanting God to save America,
569. 39:03but if it's only this, we're missing something.
570. 39:06If it's only because I want my life to continue
571. 39:11the way it has been going,
572. 39:13I want to have access to full shelves at grocery stores.
573. 39:17I want to be able to stream the ball games this weekend.
574. 39:21I want to be able to fill my car up with gas.
575. 39:26If it's only that, I think we're missing the biblical view of how God deals with nations.
576. 39:35God is not going to save America so we can maintain our standard of living.
577. 39:40Listen, I'm there with you folks if you're listening.
578. 39:44I want to maintain our standard of living.
579. 39:47It's a blessing, okay?
580. 39:48But if that's the only thing we're looking at, we're missing what God's doing.
581. 39:53If God saves America, it is because He wants it for His purposes.
582. 40:00Amen.
583. 40:01And He's going to use it for His purposes.
584. 40:05If we're thinking of God as being here for us,
585. 40:13we're missing it, we're here for Him.
586. 40:16And that means if God is going to save America
587. 40:20for His purposes, we need to make sure we're ready
588. 40:23to participate in the outworking of those purposes.
589. 40:28And so that's what I think is happening.
590. 40:31And the reason I say that is because we may still go through
591. 40:34economic trial. We may still have and will continue to have very sharp disagreements in this country.
592. 40:41There may still be violence to come. Okay. I think that's probably all those things I said.
593. 40:49That's probably still coming. And if it does come, the church has to be the hands and feet and mouth
594. 40:59of Jesus to those who are bewildered and afraid.
595. 41:04And the only way we're gonna be able to fill those shoes
596. 41:07and walk in those steps is to prepare ourselves now,
597. 41:11seeking God, getting in the Word, and saying,
598. 41:14God, whatever happens, whatever cup you hand to us,
599. 41:18we're gonna drink it and we are going to go through it
600. 41:21with our neighbors, but we've gotta be prepared
601. 41:24to be instruments of God in whatever He's got planned
602. 41:28for this country.
603. 41:29Does that kind of make sense?
604. 41:29Absolutely.
605. 41:30It kind of makes sense.
606. 41:32Because in a lot of ways,
607. 41:33I think we've gotten to where we've gotten
608. 41:34because we have misinterpreted and misapplied God's blessings.
609. 41:43There's a reason why Moses warns the sex generation
610. 41:47wilderness Israelites and Deuteronomy 8.
611. 41:49Be careful when you've eaten and you're telling me it's a fool.
612. 41:53Be careful when you have your herds and they're multiplying
613. 41:57and you have silver and you have gold.
614. 41:59And that's interesting to note
615. 42:01because you have in the greater society,
616. 42:03but the Lord through Moses mentions
617. 42:04having multiplied silver and gold,
618. 42:07because at that juncture,
619. 42:08you very rarely see people desperate in povers
620. 42:12that will refuse to cry out to the Lord.
621. 42:13But when you have readily available streaming services,
622. 42:17when you have biweekly direct deposits,
623. 42:20you may have to go to the bank,
624. 42:21it's already there, those things have the capacity
625. 42:24to cause us to drift from a palpable, tangible,
626. 42:27volitional dependence upon God.
627. 42:30And when that occurs, and we have biblical examples
628. 42:33of this, all the scripture, the nation of Israel,
629. 42:35that, you know, Deuteronomy 17, the Lord warns the king,
630. 42:38you know, you need to have your own copy
631. 42:40of the book of the law, actually hand copied
632. 42:42in the presence of the Levites,
633. 42:43and then downstream Josiah.
634. 42:45What is this book of the law?
635. 42:47You know, that's how these things have transpired.
636. 42:49And so what you're saying, I believe,
637. 42:52is appropriate because if our immediate responses is to think that God wants to do something for us,
638. 43:01as if we are the protagonist and his drama, as opposed to us being there for him,
639. 43:09we've not only missed it. We very well could be agents of everything that's ailing our nation.
640. 43:13Oh, that's a perfect way to come to put an exclamation point on that.
641. 43:19I didn't even think about that part if we're not careful to be biblical in the way we live
642. 43:24our lives and in our relationship with Him, we could be the instruments of our own demise.
643. 43:32That's why I'm sure you do the same thing. That's why I pleaded with Christians, please go out and
644. 43:37vote. And some Christians had sharp disagreements about, well, can I vote for this candidate or that
645. 43:43candidate? And we all, I think, as the ministry said, at least go out and vote down ballot.
646. 43:49In other words, don't just simply be apathetic and allow the
647. 43:56winds of darkness to push us over a cliff, at least get involved.
648. 44:00And it's a perfect way of saying it.
649. 44:02You don't want through our own paralysis and through our own enjoyment of luxury
650. 44:08to be agents of destruction.
651. 44:11Perfect.
652. 44:12No, yeah, I've said this on the radio as well that I think many people, even some Christians have misunderstood
653. 44:20demonic temptation. Like we think of it exclusively in certain terms. I don't see it in other terms.
654. 44:24You know, we, you know, the, the sexual morality stuff, that's pretty obvious to many people.
655. 44:29Even, you know, the temptation to become despondent when there's, uh, aggressive and abundant
656. 44:35impoverishment and things of that nature. We don't recognize there's equally violent temptation
657. 44:40in the context where there's material wealth. Yes. And material abundance. That's equally
658. 44:46the temptation because frankly Satan doesn't care if you go to hell with a
659. 44:49billion dollars in your bank or with none he doesn't care what he wants is for you
660. 44:54not to have relationship with Christ not to have faith in Christ Jesus and so if I
661. 44:58can lull you into a false sense of security through material relaxation and
662. 45:03you know who cares about the word of God is football games all day long on
663. 45:07Sundays you know that is just as much a virulent temptation and I strongly
664. 45:12they will be ancestors in our faith
665. 45:14when believers are unified with Christ
666. 45:17in heaven for all eternity
667. 45:19that they're going to ask me,
668. 45:20how were you able to stand in the era of the Internet?
669. 45:23How were you able to stand
670. 45:24when you could get in a plane
671. 45:26and travel across the entire world
672. 45:29in less than a day?
673. 45:31How were you able to stand in that day?
674. 45:33And I think many have allowed our context
675. 45:36to manipulate us away
676. 45:38from having a razor-sharp edge
677. 45:40edge in terms of remaining faithful to the scripture and apply it in our context.
678. 45:44You know, the few times the Lord has given me opportunity to speak to other pastors.
679. 45:51One of the things I always gave as a warning, and this comes from being in the ministry in the 80s
680. 45:58when several high-profile televangelists fell. I always said, do not miss, do not misunderstand
681. 46:09the blessings in your life as God, as evidence of God looking the other way and ignoring your sin,
682. 46:18because the anointing of God will result in people being changed by the preaching and teaching of the
683. 46:27gospel. Even if you are living in sin privately, but know this, if you're living in sin privately,
684. 46:36even though you might seem to have a fruitful ministry, at some point, the Word of God and the
685. 46:42judgment of God is going to come to your life because everyone, everyone has to answer for the
686. 46:49way they're living their lives. Don't misunderstand blessings, earthly blessings, as evidence that God
687. 46:55doesn't care how you're living. God does care how you're living and eventually the truth is going to
688. 47:01come out. So why not take this opportunity to endeavor to live holy lives now? Whether
689. 47:07you have fruitful lives, whether you have material blessings or not, if you do things
690. 47:13the right way, ultimately God's blessings will come. Amen. So well said. And that wisdom applies
691. 47:21to pastors and non-pastors. Right. You know, and a lot of people have misconstrued. And
692. 47:26And I said, you know, a booming stock market doesn't make a nation great.
693. 47:30You know, even having a protected southern border doesn't make a nation great.
694. 47:35And the Lord has given us opportunity to repent.
695. 47:40We must take full advantage of it.
696. 47:41I'll give you the last word about it a minute.
697. 47:43Well, I listen, folks, you're listening.
698. 47:46You get the privilege of listening to Abraham Hamilton the third five days a week.
699. 47:51Hopefully, you're going to church hearing preaching and teaching.
700. 47:54Hopefully, you're reading the Word of God.
701. 47:56God speak to you, respond in humility and faith and the fear of the Lord.
702. 48:03And it is time right now with this reprieve to order your lives a right so that God can
703. 48:10use you in a mighty way, whatever's coming.
704. 48:13Well said.
705. 48:14Thank you guys for tuning into the program.
706. 48:16Mark your calendars for June 12th through the 14th 2025 at the Activate Summit, the Tupelo
707. 48:22Mississippi at the Catons Bank Conference Center. There will be an
708. 48:25activate kids track for children ages 6 to 12. There will also be something
709. 48:31available for 13-year-olds and up and for all adults you don't want to miss it.
710. 48:34The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect
711. 48:42those of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.