← Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
Ep 1218 | Why John MacArthur’s 56-Year Ministry Shook the World
00:55:02
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- [00:01]
Ali Stuckey
Renowned expositor John MacArthur has died at the age of 86. Today, we are honoring his legacy, and in that, we are looking at some of my favorite highlights of his ministry. How he pushed back against tyranny and cultural confusion simply by being a faithful preacher of the word of God and defender of the gospel. I know that this message, this episode, will encourage you. It's brought to you by our friends at Olive. This app helps you see what is really in your food, even beyond the ingredients labels. Sometimes companies will sneak in stuff that's just bad for you. If you want full transparency of the food you're buying, you have to download the Olive app today. Go to the App Store and download Olive. Hey, guys. Welcome to Relatable. Happy Wednesday. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. Before we get into the content of today's episode, just a couple housekeeping things. Number one, CJLA and Relatable are having a giveaway. Some of our Relatable merch, I posted about it on Instagram. So make sure that you go and you look at that Instagram post with all of the instructions that is running, I think for the next couple days. I'm actually. Yes, Brie says the next couple days. And okay, this is really unfortunate, but someone has made a fake account. We are going to make sure that this is reported and they are reaching out to some of you saying that you won the giveaway and they're asking for your bank information. Please do not give anyone on Instagram ever your bank information. If someone is asking for your bank info, it has nothing to do with this giveaway. That is a scam. Just some really awful people out there and I'm really sorry about that. If you have been scammed, we are going to try to deal with that, but it will come from the CJLA official account if you are the winner and they will not ask for any private information like your bank account information from you. So, so sorry to hear about that. Uh, also speaking of Carly Jean Los Angeles, a shout out to our new merch, which is so, so beautiful and I love it so much. You guys are loving it so much. All you have to do is go to alimerch.com and see that the T shirts plant seeds that bloom in eternity. That kind of fits into the theme of what we'll be talking about the beginning of the show today. Raise a respectful ruckus self. Love won't save you, but Jesus will. The T shirts are oversized, so I like to wear a size small, but depending on how you like it to fit. It goes up to large. Some people, you know, they wanted an extra large, but it fits large, larger than the actual size. And then our hats are super cute. The embroidery is very fancy on the front of these crew necks and on the front of these really, really well made T shirts. Love them so much. That black T shirt was definitely the favorite of everyone. Unfortunately that is sold out. We will have a restock in a few weeks. But lots of other wonderful colors totes as well. Go to al merch.com all right, one more thing. Until we get into what we're actually talking about today is a survey that we have. We want your feedback. We want to know you better. We've got access to demographics and to audience insights on YouTube and on the listening side to an extent, and then also on my social media. But that doesn't get into specifics of who you are and what you are looking for and what you love about this podcast and your feedback about this podcast. And so if you could please fill out a survey that we have put together, it will take less than 10 minutes. Way less than 10 minutes. Minutes. The link is in the description of this podcast. Whether you're watching on YouTube or Spotify or listening on Apple podcasts or wherever, just go to the description. You will see the link. And if you could take the time to fill that out, that would be super helpful. We are always trying to add the most value to your life. I know it is no small thing to spend an hour doing anything. And so the fact that you guys are here, that you are investing your time and your energy and your care into this show, especially those of you who engage with me, message me comment, it just really means a lot. And I am so grateful for all of you and that's why I want to know more about who you are and what you're thinking. So please fill out this survey. It would help us a whole lot. All right, let's talk about Pastor John MacArthur. You heard me mention at the end of Monday's episode that their church, Grace Community Church, had announced that Pastor John is in the hospital with pneumonia. He's had a series of health complications over the past several months. He is 86 years old and they warned people that he is probably not going to recover. And I asked for prayer on Monday as many other people have had for healing. But if not healing, then supernatural peace. And actually God has answered both of those prayers with a yes, because John MacArthur is now fully healed in heaven. He is fully whole and he is in the presence of his Savior. And I want to talk a little bit about John MacArthur, who he is, his legacy, some of the highlights that at least we can see publicly through videos that have been published over the years. I mean, it would take volumes of books to talk about his entire faithful ministry and the impact that it has had. And so we only have a short amount of time to go through a few of my favorite highlights. But I hope it blesses you and I hope, I hope you, like me, have your courage renewed to stand for the truth of the Gospel. This is what Grace to you His Ministry posted on X yesterday. Our hearts are heavy yet rejoicing as we share the news that our beloved pastor and teacher, John MacArthur has entered into the presence of the Savior Jesus. This evening his faith became sight. Yes, and amen. He faithfully endured until his race was run. And they put two Timothy four one eight. And I just want to read that to you since it was obviously very important to Dr. MacArthur and also important to to his to his church and to his ministry. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the Word, Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears. They will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. And then there's more in that chapter, but I'll end right there. For the sake of time, I encourage you to read that whole chapter. But that is a beautiful summary of what John MacArthur's ministry was like and what he aimed to do. If you don't know about John MacArthur, especially those of you who are my Catholic listeners, or maybe listeners who don't have a faith at all, you might not know why this person is so significant, not just his to his local congregation, but really to the world of Christendom. He was the pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California from 1969 until his death this week. Wow. He was a renowned Baptist expositor. Expositor means that you are lifting the meaning out of the text. You are preaching word by word, the text of scripture. You are looking at the context. You are allowing scripture to interpret scripture, and you are pointing to the gospel in every single passage of the Bible. He was a very skilled, a very Eloquent, a very dynamic and persuasive expositor. He authored numerous books about the gospel as seen in all segments of Scripture, Old and New Testament. I love the Gospel according to Jesus, the Gospel According to Matthew. Really good formative books. I have a few of his study Bibles, which have been very impactful. They've been distributed around the world. John MacArthur was someone who was impervious to cultural pressures. He was relentless in defending the truth of God's word. He was immovable against the demands of the moral revolution that has cast our country into sexual chaos and confusion. He was courageous in the face of government tyranny. He was an aggressive enemy to false doctrine, whether it was progressivism or the prosperity gospel. He was an un tiring defender of the truth. He was also a loving husband to his wife of 62 years, Patricia. He was a father, he was a grandfather. He was a great grandfather. He was a faithful, steady leader of his congregation for 56 years. I mean, in an age of sound bites and celebrity pastors, people whose name is really here today and gone tomorrow, because they're just there for fame and for notoriety, he was faithful to his church for almost six decades. Last week I, I talked to a man, I had a conversation with, a guy who has worked for John MacArthur for years. And we were just talking about his dynamics with him and when he was hired by John MacArthur to do the work that he does. And he was talking about being called then to his office and I said, oh, I'm sure that that was a little intimidating, that you didn't know whether it was good or bad, whether you were getting promoted or you were getting fired. And he said, actually, I knew that it was good because John MacArthur didn't like to deliver negative news to people. He didn't like having those very difficult conversations, those kind of negative conversations, negative feedback, because anyone who knows John MacArthur knows what a sweetheart he is and knows how tender hearted is that he really. As much as he was unafraid to talk about sin and beg for people to repent from their sin, his desire was not to hurt people. His desire was to love people. And that is why he was so fierce against deception. He was passionate about the gospel and he was a soft hearted shepherd to his people. And we got to see and benefit from so much of his public ministry. But we know that there are thousands and thousands of hours and moments of unseen and unsung faithfulness that are ringing in eternity, that we on this side of eternity will never fully know. We know that his impact will last for decades, if not centuries to come. And now he has heard the words that he has longed to hear his whole life that we should all long to hear as Christians. And that is well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master. He is united with Jesus. He's united with all the saints who have gone before him. And by saints, I mean what the Bible means when it says saints. I am talking about all Christians. All Christians through Christ, by grace, through faith, become saints. We are saints and members with the household of God. So he has joined all of the saints who have gone before him. He has reunited with many of those he loved so much on earth, including his father, who helped shape his faith. That was something he talked about a lot, his beloved friend and fellow defender of the gospel, even, even amidst their disagreements, their fellowship was such a good example for the rest of us. And that was theologian R.C. sproul, someone else that I have really learned from and benefited from a lot. I did not know John MacArthur well personally, but I feel honored that I got to speak to him twice when he was gracious enough to come on this show. And we'll talk about that in a little bit. But I will miss him in the sense that I was always able to trust that from his pulpit, he would meet every culturally chaotic moment with clarity. And there's just not. There aren't a lot of pastors who do that well today, to be honest. In the era of COVID he did a sermon series, I believe it was 2021, about Satan's attack on children, how that manifests itself in society today via sexualization, gender confusion, child sacrifice, abortion. And it bolstered me. It grounded me. It reminded me why sticking to God's word against the lies of our culture is worth it, whatever the cost. So thank you, John MacArthur, for your faithfulness. I am praying for his family, I'm praying for his friends. I'm praying for his church as they go through this transition to different leadership. And I am just so grateful for the power of the Holy Spirit in his life and the impact that it will have for so many years to come. All right, we'll get into some more videos and highlights in just a second. Let me pause and tell you about our first sponsor for the day, and that is Preborn Preborn supplies Pro life pregnancy centers with the resources and the tools they need to protect life, to serve the moms and the dads and their babies. These families are in a very vulnerable position often, and they've been lied to by the abortion lobby by Planned Parenthood. They have been told that it's not really a baby, it's just a clump of cells that their life will be over if they don't get an abortion. And so Planned Parenthood takes their money, kills their baby and then leaves them. But these pro life pregnancy centers, they are there through the pregnancies. They are there after the baby is born, through education, through providing them with the material needs that they have. And preborn makes that happen. They supply these pregnancy centers, for example, with sonogram machines to ensure that those moms actually can see the living image bearer of God inside them. They're so much more likely to choose life when they do that. But the only way that preborn can survive and can help supply these pregnancy centers is through your donations. If you donate just 28, say you donate $28 a month. If you're able to do that, that is covering the cost of one sonogram session for a pregnant woman in need. So if you are doing that every month, you could be sa real life one image bear every month by supporting preborn. All you have to do is go to preborn.com ally and you will be able to donate securely. That is preborn.com ally Al Mohler, another one of my favorite guests and someone that I've learned so much from and have been able to spend time with in person. He published a Tribute to John MacArthur in World Opinions on Monday titled A Lion of the Pulpit now in Christ's Presence. He says this, and it is absolutely true. He was the greatest expositor of his time. One of the ironies of John MacArthur is that to the end, he insisted that any God called preacher of the Word could do what he did. There was great truth in that claim, of course. After all, what MacArthur meant was that preaching comes down to the exposition of God's Word and before God's people. And that meant studying God's Word with diligence and then standing before a congregation to read and explain the scriptural text. Any God called preacher can do that. But Al Mohler points out that on the other hand, John MacArthur was uniquely gifted as an expositor, and he was uniquely faithful as well. He says that he loved preachers. He loved being with preachers. He was possessed by a drive to help other preachers. This urgency, I love people who feel urgency, especially for so many years, was transformed into what became the Shepherd's Conference. Year after year they became gathering events for preachers committed to exposition. John MacArthur will be greatly missed and deeply mourned he demonstrated faithfulness for a long lifetime of honorable ministry, a remarkable gift to Christchurch. His race is now complete. And what a remarkable race it was. But remember this, Pastor John MacArthur would be the first to say that the priority above all other priorities is that the faithful exposition of Holy Scripture continue until Jesus comes. Soli Deo gloria, which of course is a Reformation mantra for the glory of God alone. And that is, of course, how John MacArthur spent his life. I'm trying not to get choked up. It's tough to do. I'm not sad at all for him. I'm sad for the loss for all of us. And it also seems to just represent an end of an era and just a different generation of people, Americans and Christians. And it's hard not to be sad about that. Even though we know that to live is Christ and to die is gain. And he's gained so much. There are so many examples of him perfectly summarizing the gospel. And actually a very beautiful thing happening on X right now is the circulation of John MacArthur clips like, I wish I could play all of them, they're amazing. But it just goes to show that even though Satan is rejoicing right now, that one of the most effective Bible preachers and gospel sharers of our day is now out of the fight in this regard, that God is going to make sure that he gets the glory, like God is going to make sure that he is drawing people to himself, that actually his followers don't have to be physically alive in order for God to use them. That's amazing. That's who God is. And it makes sense because Jesus defeated death through his resurrection. And so if death can't hold him, then death can't hold the gospel back. And God is going to use people how he wants to use them, even after their death. So here is a really good summation of the gospel that he did in an interview with Kirk Cameron in 2004. SOT 7.
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John MacArthur
If a person will say, I am. I am nothing in and of myself, I want to throw myself into the arms of God to be changed. What does God offer? Forgiveness. Total forgiveness for all your sin, forever, unconditionally provided by Christ. The greatest gospel verse in the Bible, 2nd Corinthians 5. 21. He made him who knew no sin sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Let me unpack those 15 Greek words. He made Jesus sin. What do you mean? He made Jesus sin? Only in one sense. He treated him as if he had committed every sin ever committed by every person who would ever believe, though in fact he committed none of them. Hanging on the cross, he was wholly harmless, undefiled. Hanging on the cross, he was a spotless lamb. He was never for a split second a sinner. He is holy God on the cross, but God is treating him. I'll put it more practically as if he lived my life. God punished Jesus for my sin, turns right around and treats me as if I lived his life. That's the great doctrine of substitution. And on that doctrine turned the whole reformation of the church that is the heart of the gospel. And what you get is complete forgiveness covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. When he looks at the cross, he sees you. When he looks at you, he sees Christ.
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Ali Stuckey
He who knew no sin became sin, that we might become the righteousness of God. I mean, there are so many passages that point to the futility of our efforts to earn God's love. I mean, Ephesians 2 is one of them. The whole book of Galatians, gosh. We see that we can't earn our righteousness, that it's not through any effort, it's not through any sacrament, it is not through any attempt at making ourselves acceptable to God. In fact, we were dead in our sin apart from Christ. Dead people, people can't make themselves good. Dead people can't make themselves better. You can't shake the stench of death after you've died. And so it is only by a miracle, by the full reconciling efforts of Christ, that we can be saved by his grace, through the faith that He Himself supplies us. He who knew no sin became sin so we could become the righteousness of God. That righteousness is only by Christ alone. Here he is on the Sunday special a few years ago with Ben Shapiro. I remember listening to this in 2018 and just thinking, yes, this is. I. I really encourage you. If you have not watched, or maybe you haven't watched it in a few years, the interview between John MacArthur and Ben Shapiro, please go do that. I mean, it is a masterclass in how to share the gospel with someone so respectfully, but without compromising at all. All of us, myself included. When we're in a debate with someone that we really want to persuade, but also we don't want to offend. It's easy for us to caveat, it's easy for us to pull back a little bit, especially if they kind of get aggressive or they seem offended. It's. And Ben Shapiro doesn't seem offended at all here, but just in other situations, it's really easy for us to kind of just, okay, never mind. I don't want to hurt your feelings. And you can see here how John MacArthur is so gentle and so kind, but so persistent and not backing down at all. And here he is breaking down Isaiah 53, which of course is a prophetic chapter that is prophesying specifically Jesus and the salvation that we and specifically Israel can have through Christ. This is the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. And John MacArthur, speaking to an Orthodox Jewish man who knows fully the Jewish perspective of Isaiah 53, lays out to him, no, no, your Messiah has already come. Here's sat 13.
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John MacArthur
He was bruised for our iniquities. He was chastised for our peace. Whoa. What happened? Zechariah says the day will come when they look on him whom they have pierced and mourn for him as an only son. Wow. That's what they will say. That's what the Jewish people will say when they look on the one they pierced and mourn for him as an only son. They'll say, we thought he was stricken by God. We thought we were doing the work of God and taking his life because he was a blasphemer. Now we see he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. And then, says Zechariah, a fountain of blessing is opened to Israel and a fountain of salvation. And then you have that followed by the kingdom and all, the fulfillment of the old covenant. And all of it comes when Israel looks at the Messiah and sees him for who he is. The interesting thing about Isaiah's prophecy of that is he doesn't say it's going to happen, but he doesn't use future verbs. He uses past verbs because he's looking past Christ to when the Jews look back on the past. Now we see it. Now we see it.
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Ali Stuckey
I just love that so much. And Ben had sweet tributes on acts to Dr. MacArthur, just saying. And emphasizing what an incredible man he was. And that also speaks to Ben's character that he is able to hear something that many could perceive as offensive to his faith and his deeply held beliefs and still be able to recognize the impact and the courage that John MacArthur had and recognize that in his death. But it also goes to show that a lot of us are scared for no reason. Like, we are scared to share the Gospel and to tell the truth to someone. I'm speaking to myself as well, because we're afraid that that person's going to hate us. And while that may be true, and that cost is totally worth it because Jesus said if the world hates you, it's because they hated me first. But very often those people will actually, even if they disagree, they might recognize, okay, but I understand where you're coming from or understand you're trying to love me. Or maybe they won't recognize that then, but maybe they'll recognize it later on. Just remember, we don't judge our obedience by other people's reaction to us either way. We judge our obedience by our faithfulness to God's word. And John MacArthur was so faithful to God's word. All right, next ad for the day and that is Patriot Mobile. Patriot Mobile is America's only Christian conservative wireless provider. This is the the only company, that only wireless provider that boldly stands in the gap for every American that believes that freedom is worth fighting for. Not only are they leading the way in this more red leaning economy, Patriot Mobile also outgains the competition when it comes to technology. Patriot Mobile is one of the only carriers with access to all three major networks. They offer unlimited data plans, mobile hotspots, international roaming, Internet backup. So much more. It's time to make the switch. Today. Just go to patriotmobile.com Ali you'll get a free month of service. It's patriotmobile.com Alli and before we get into the rest of the episode, I just wanna remind you guys about Share the Arrows. And if you want to be given courage, if you wanna be bolstered in your faith, if you want to learn about the word of God, maybe this is all new for you. Maybe you're hearing the gospel for the first time or maybe you've been a Christian for 50 years. This conference Share the Arrows is for you. We've got some of the best female Bible teachers, apologists and encourages and encouragers and worship leaders in the world that are going to be speaking and serving you guys there. Share the arrows.com that's where you can get your tickets. And we've got a VIP package too where you can come the night before to the VIP dinner. You can see the relatable set, you can meet all of the speakers. But general admission tickets are also awesome. Every seat in the house is amazing this year. Share the Arrows is brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers and y'. All. Last year it was just so obvious that it was a Holy Spirit led event that it was so much bigger than just one day. And by God's grace, this year will be the same and even better. Go to ShareTheAeros.com get your tickets today. That's Share the Arrows.com he was on Relatable a couple times. He was on the first time after he defied Gavin Newsom's order to shut down churches. And they basically said no. And, you know, it's interesting because some people who were a part of his ministry, they were talking about their thinking at the time. And I was involved publicly, like, in some of those early conversations about, like, what is the biblical obligation to obey the government? And obviously in Romans 13 and elsewhere in Scripture, we're seeing to. We are. We see that we are to submit to the government. However, in the United States, the Constitution is the law of the land, that even our government officials, who are supposed to be our public servants, they are to submit to the Constitution. So if a leader is outside of constitutional bounds, how we have it in our constitutional republic is that it is they who are usurping authority, not those of us who are abiding by the Constitution, which has a First Amendment, the very first one, that includes religious liberty that allows churches to gather without interference from the state, especially for a virus that, yes, had some potential danger for some populations, but really not more than the flu. And even if it had, churches have the freedom to gather as they see fit. So that was the first interview that we had. Loved it so much, Was so honored to be able to talk to him for a little bit. But then he came and he talked for a whole hour about all different kinds of things, how faith intersects with politics. He wrote a book that was very similar to the sermon series that I referenced earlier, about the world's and Satan's attack on children and how we combat that with the truth of God's word. And here he is talking a little bit about that Saudi.
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John MacArthur
The way that you live out your Christianity in a society is by your godly living, your righteous living, upholding truth and the word of God. And how does that coincide with politics? For me, politics gives me an opportunity to stand up for righteousness. The Democrats and the Republicans aren't particularly against each other based on economics. It's morality against immorality. When your agenda is kill babies, mutilate children, advocate homosexual marriage, those are sins of epic proportions that will completely destroy a culture. So if I am in a society where I can take a stand against that, then I have to do that. That's my responsibility before God to do that.
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Ali Stuckey
Yep. And of course, he's absolutely right. Politics matter because policy matters, because people matter. And for the Christian, these things aren't primarily political. They're primarily biblical and politics has become theological. It's not that our theology has become political. And John MacArthur, he was not a political activist. I saw and say he was a culture warrior. Well, I don't know if I would describe him as that only because, like by necessity, as a biblical expositor, and he preached God's word against the chaos of the culture. I guess you could label him as that. But really he was just an expositor who stood up for what the word of God said. And when that intersected with where culture was going wrong, he was totally unafraid to say, well, this is what the word of God says. He staked his life on that. And that's an example for all of us. You know, some people don't know that he has actually been a boil on the back of Gavin Newsom for a very long time. Like before he was battling him as Gavin Newsom was the governor of California trying to shut churches down. They were duking it out on Larry King Live. Larry King, who of course was, I believe, an atheist, had John MacArthur on often to represent the Christian perspective on things. And there was a debate about homosexuality in the early 2000s against Gavin Newsom, who claimed, claims to be, you know, an ardent Catholic. And here's what John MacArthur had to say to good old Gavin here.
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John MacArthur
SOT9 I'm a practicing Catholic. I got married in the church two plus years. I don't see what we're doing in terms of advancing the bond of love and monogamy and extending that to families, families of same sex in any way, shape or form takes away anything from the church or the sanctity of the union that my wife and I have. I would just like to ask the mayor, as a practicing Catholic, do you believe the Bible is the word of God? Look, Pastor, I'm not going to get into theological debate with you that way. No, that's not a theological debate. That's just a straight question. Do you believe the Bible is the authoritative word of God? Yeah, with respect, I guess I do. Now. The response? Well, then the Bible says when God created man, he said, one man, one woman cleave together for life. That's a family. Jesus in the New Testament reaffirms that. All the writers of the Old and the New Testament affirm it. Adultery, bestiality, homosexuality was punishable by death according to the Old Testament law because it was so serious in those early years, because it literally shattered the hope of civilization. The New Testament offers us, of course, grace. Those sins are sins. They are forgivable Jesus died to redeem us from those sins. We're all sinners. You don't want to categorize sin. So what does the state have to do? But the point at this juncture is, well, he's representing the state. He's coming back and saying, I'm a Catholic, and I'm a Catholic, and somehow this fits into my Catholicism. And I'm saying, well, what's your authority then?
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Ali Stuckey
Absolutely right. Gavin Newsom, I believe he was maybe the mayor of San Francisco at that point. He wasn't yet the governor of California. And so it's Gavin that brought up theology first. It's Gavin that brought up religion first. And then when John MacArthur says, okay, let's talk about what your supposed religion says. If the Catholic Church, he is saying, says that the Bible is at least an authority, which it does, then let's talk about what that Bible says. So it's Gavin that brought up his Catholicism as a justification for, you know, saying that he's okay with gay marriage. And then John MacArthur very expertly said, okay, well, we've got a shared authority there. Let's see what the scripture has to say about it. And then that's, you know, oh, my gosh, Gavin Newsom is such a snake. And he was just slithering there. And John MacArthur was completely unimpressed with his sliminess. Here's another before we get back to the Gavin Newsom conversation, which we will. Let me read you, or let me show you this other clip from Larry King. And this is. He's on a panel in 2005, and he's got a bunch of faith leaders there. And the question is, what happens when we die? And Larry King asked, like, would he be afraid to die in a plane crash? And MacArthur says, no, here's why.
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John MacArthur
Satin going down in an airplane would be a novel way for me to go immediately to heaven. And my Bible says, absent from the body, present with the Lord, far better to depart and be with Christ. This is my hope. I have no fear of dying itself. I have no fear of death. It was five years ago that I was near death in the critical care unit with blood clots all over both lungs. And the truth of the matter is, eight days later when I came out, I had a disappointment because I felt like I was ready to see my Lord and I was ready to enter into all that God has prepared for them that love him. Not that I don't love my wife, my kids, and enjoy the riches. I was made for social life. I was made for relationships. And that's why I hang on here. And I was made to be used by God and I want to serve him as long as he, he wants me here. But but I'm ready to go to heaven whenever he sends the word.
- [36:24]
Ali Stuckey
I love that confidence so much. I mean that is the verse that actually I, I quoted and paraphrased that he's paraphrasing there just a few minutes ago. To live is Christ and to die is gain. And he was confident in that. And may we all have that confidence and be ready to give that kind of answer when asked. Let me pause and tell you about our next sponsor. It's Good Ranchers y'. All. I love Good Ranchers so much. The sad news is is that by the time this show ends, Family Farm will close down because of the over regulations. Because of the competition from cheaper, less quality meat that's being imported from abroad and filling our grocery stores. It is just really hard for the American meat farming ranching industry to stay alive. That is why Good Ranchers does what it does. It relies only on American farms and ranches for all of their seafood, all of their chicken, all of their beef, even their seed oil free chicken nuggets that comes from an American farm or ranch. This is a Christian family owned, God loving, America loving company that sends you American meat right to your front door on dry ice every month. When you subscribe to Good Ranchers you will be so happy that you did. It'll make your life so much easier and you'll feel good knowing that you're supporting this American industry. Plus when you subscribe you can pick a free meat for life. So Wagyu burgers, hot dogs, bacon, chicken wings in every box for the lifetime of your subscription. Plus my code Ali gets you an extra $40 off that's good ranchers.com ally code ally good ranchers.com code ally back to Gavin Newsom. As I said, he was really John MacArthur was really a thorn in Gavin Newsom side for a long time. And then when we found fast forward to Covid when Governor Newsom was the Governor of California and not just like a slimy ambitious local politician trying to go on the news and defend homosexuality, he was trying to close down churches. Grace Community Church after Gavin Newsom said no church services but you can go to strip clubs and you can go get weed and all of that. Grace Community Church resumed indoor worship. In July of 2020. LA county sought a court injunction to enforce the ban threatening fines in jail time. But the church, they could have stood Down. A lot of people told them to Andy Stanley at the time, even Tim Keller at the time, they were criticizing, without naming John MacArthur, in many cases, as you know, fighting against the safety and protection of people. Andy Stanley said, and I believe it was a convocation to Liberty University that the Bible doesn't actually call us to meet together bodily as a local church, which of course, is simply not true. A lot of people criticize John MacArthur and his church for this courage, but here's why he did it. Here's Psalm 11.
- [39:26]
John MacArthur
You know that the word of God commands you to worship, to come together, to not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as a matter of some is come together to stimulate one another, love and good work. You know, in the book of 1 Corinthians, when the Apostle Paul is writing to the church and talking about the Lord's table, in that chapter over and over, it says, when you come together, when you come together, when you come together, when you come together, this is the church. The church isn't a video experience. The church is life on life. And you need to be the church. You also need not only to follow the word of God, but also realize Christ is the head of the church, not any political entity, not any government agency, and not any person in power. Christ is the head of the church. Give glory to him by being the church. And then you need to understand that you don't really have anything to fear in terms of the threat of this virus, because the statistics are just so minuscule.
- [40:25]
Ali Stuckey
I mean, just so brave and so clear. You can also just. Just, you can see a difference, a big difference in him just physically from that 2020 clip to the clip that I played, which was from 2024. And you can just see like he was. He was just ready to meet his Savior, although the sharpness of his mind and his passion never faded. On September 2, 2021, the county and state settled, paying the church $800,000 for legal fees, resolving the case without the church, church admitting fault. Praise God. I mean, what a precedent to set on the front lines of that battle when too many pastors were scared. That, of course, was not his last battle, however, with Gavin Newsom. I mean, no one called out and I think just showed by contrast the evil and stupidity of Gavin Newsom, as, you know, effectively and persuasively as John MacArthur did. But also, I doubt that anyone has prayed for Gavin Newsom's repentance as genuinely and persistently as John MacArthur has. And so I'll get into this last story in just a second. I, I do have to pause. We've got five ads today. Since we went down to three episodes, we've got five ads per episode. So sometimes towards the end I have to put them a little close together. So let me go ahead and pause until we get into this last segment of the show and tell you about Cozier Earth. Absolutely. Love Cozy Earth. And right now we're in the heat of the summer, y'. All. No one wants to be sweating at night. No one wants to wake up in a puddle of sweat because you don't have breathable sheets. You want to have soft, luxurious, temperature regulating sheets. And that's why you should have all of your sheets from Cozy Earth. They're so soft, they're so high quality. I love them so much. They are my preference. And I can always tell if for some reason I don't have Cozy Earth sheets on my bed, it makes a really big difference. It keeps you cool and that helps you sleep well. This is true, by the way of all of their loungewear and their pajamas. So comfortable, so silky soft while keeping you cool. Go to cozyearth.com use code relatable. You get up to 40% off. That's amazing. Their best selling temperature regulating sheets, their apparel and more. You will feel the difference when you use Cozy Earth stuff. Go to cozyearth.com code relatable. All right. In September 2022, I wrote an article about this in World magazine. At the time, MacArthur wrote an open letter and delivered this sermon as well that criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom for a billboard campaign in California promoting abortion. And it actually wasn't just in California, it was throughout the country. And the billboards had need an abortion. California is ready to help. Learn more@abortion.ca.gov and here's the kicker. At the bottom you can see love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these. Mark 12:21. So using the words of God to try to convince women from other states where Roe v. Wade or the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Dobbs decision had triggered these laws or allowed laws to be put in place to heavily restrict abortion. And so Gavin News tried to use the Bible to advertise California as a sanctuary state for a state for a child sacrifice, as the destination for those who are seeking to brutally murder their babies. And so John MacArthur wrote a letter, delivered a sermon that was an earnest call for Gavin Newsome to repent of, of his evil. MacArthur also accused in this sermon and in this letter of News accused Newsom's policies of causing crime, homelessness and moral decline, called out his support of homosexuality, transgenderism, and most importantly, MacArthur warned that Newsom soul was in eternal peril and urged him to repent and follow Christ. He said Newsom's leadership went against biblical values by promoting evil instead of good. He said, in mid September, you reveal to the entire nation how thoroughly rebellious against God you are when you sponsored billboards across America promoting the slaughter of children whom he creates in the womb. And then, he said, you further compounded the wickedness of that murderous campaign by showing reprehensible and a reprehensible act of gross blasphemy. Quoting the Bible, he said, you chose words from the lips of Jesus without admitting that in that same moment, he gave the greatest command. You shall love the Lord your God without your. With all of your heart, mind, soul and strength. He says you can't love the Lord your God and promote murder. And so here's. Here's where he gets to the point, and I believe that John MacArthur really believed this, that it grieved him that Governor Gavin Newsom, right now, as it stands, is headed straight to hell. My concern, Governor Newsom, John MacArthur writes, is that your own soul lies in grave, eternal peril. Each one of us will give an account of himself to God. One day, not very long from now, you will face that reality. Nothing is more certain. You will stand in the presence of the holy God who created you, who is your judge, and he will demand that you give an account for how you have flouted his authority in your governance and how you have twisted his own holy word to rationalize it. As you look over the precipice of eternity, what will your answer be when you look ahead of you and see that nothing awaits you but eternal misery, the just punishment for your sins? What will all the clever rationalizations and political talking points avail for you then? And by then, it will be too late for any remedy or redemption. My plea to you, sir, John MacArthur writes, is that you would not let it come to that, that you would not go to that day of judgment apart from receiving forgiveness and righteousness through faith in Christ alone. Our church and countless Christians nationwide are praying for your full repentance. Please respond to the Gospel. Forsake the path of wickedness you have pursued all of your life, turn to Christ, ask for forgiveness, and use your office to advance the cause of righteousness as is your duty, instead of undermining it, as has been your pattern. I love the parenthetical Clarification there. So good. All right, we've got one more clip of John MacArthur before we close this out. It's sought 12.
- [47:23]
John MacArthur
Governor Gavin Newsom, who has decided that he is going to lead the nation in providing the slaughter of the children that God creates in the womb, has postured himself as if he were Herod. And I am deeply concerned for the jeopardy of his eternal soul. He had the terrifying audacity to use the words of Jesus to support the slaughter of the ones that he creates in the womb. The jeopardy of his soul is evident. I say this because my heart is grieved that Christ should be so dishonored.
- [48:14]
Ali Stuckey
Let's all join the prayers for Gavin Newsom's repentance for all of our nation's leaders. Repentance that they would come to Christ, that they would know the true gospel and that they would pursue righteousness. And may we see, see the fruit of John MacArthur's efforts and his prayers in our lifetimes, because God can do that. All right, we'll close out with a final message in just a second. Let me tell you about our last sponsor for the day. That's Concerned Women for America. This is an awesome organization. It's the nation's largest public policy Christian women's organization. And for 45 years they have been leading the charge as your voice face women in all levels of public policy. There's seven core issues are the issues that we care about as well. Family, sanctity of life, religious liberty, parental choice and education, fighting sexual exploitation, national sovereignty and support for Israel. CWA knows what a woman is. CWA trains women to become grassroots leaders, speak into the culture, pray, testify and lobby. The CEO and president, Penny Nance has written a book, A Woman's Guide. Seven Rules for Success in Business and Life. Go to ConcernedWome for your copy today. That's concerned women.org ally. You know, there's a line that I've used many times in my speeches now, and it's a line that came to me when I was speaking in Sacramento several years ago for a pro life organization. And it is still true today. And I mean, California brings forth many wicked politicians. And I think it's easy to get discouraged by that, especially if you live in the state. But here's the truth. From Nero to Newsom, from Herod to Harris, Jesus Christ reigns and the gates of hell will never prevail against the church. And while in this lifetime or in his lifetime, he didn't see Gavin Newsom repent, the truth is, is that God's eternal plan of redemption is always going off without a hitch. And it will not be until we go to glory or until Christ returns, that we see the fullness of the tapestry of people's testimonies and how God used every single bit of faithfulness of his saints, every single bit of unseen and unsung obedient work to bring people to Himself, Himself, and to advance his kingdom here on earth. And God is faithful to do it. And the truth is, is that he is coming back one day. And there will be no more death, there will be no more sin. There will be no more sorrow or sadness or corrupt leaders. There will be no more politics, because Jesus will rule in perfect peace forever and ever. So we operate, we even mourn as people who have hope, who live victoriously, who are looking forward to that day, who live joyously, not because of our circumstances here, but because we know Jesus is returning. And because we know that as Christians, only because of what Jesus has done for us, that one day we too will get to hear, well done, my good and faithful servant. And I just want you to know that. That you are not too far off. You are not too far gone. You haven't done too much. You haven't done too little to be saved and to be completely forgiven of every single big or small sin that you have ever committed. That you can be reconciled to God. Because right now, if you don't believe in Christ as your Savior, you're actually an enemy of the Holy God. Because you, like everyone else except for Jesus, is imperfect. And so you have to be reconciled to him. You have to be made friends with Him. And the only way that you can be made friends with God forever and ever is not through your own efforts, not by your church attendance, not by being as good as you possibly can, not by trying to avoid the really bad stuff as much as you possibly can, but by placing your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. And he'll do it all for you. Because when Jesus hung on the cross, he said, it is finished. And before he actually died, the thief on the cross believed in him, believed in Jesus's power. And Jesus promised him, today you will be with me in paradise. Now, that thief hadn't been baptized. That thief hadn't done any good thing. That thief hadn't earned his salvation. It was only because by grace, through faith in Jesus, that that thief was saved, that any of us can be saved. If you don't have a Bible, I encourage you to get a John MacArthur study Bible or get my favorite, my ESV study Bible. I encourage you to go your local Bible preaching church that believes in the Bible as the authority, to ask questions, to get plugged in and to know this God, who created you, who loves you, who wants relationship with you, who wants to save you from your sins and spend forever in heaven with you. All right. That's all we've got time for today. We actually had a plan for a whole other thing to talk about. And I was at most, going to make this half of my episode. But, you know, the gospel is always worth it. And the gospel was so exemplified in his life. So by paying homage to him, by honoring John MacArthur, we got to talk about the most important message in the world, and that is the good news of Jesus Christ. So we will be back here on Friday.
- [54:09]
John MacArthur
Sam.