The Jewish roots of Christianity

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Bible teaching with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy and the Jewish roots of Christianity

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Episode: “Faith in Our Leaders”
Bible heroes like Ruth and David were not perfect. Rather, they succeeded by placing their hope and trust in God. Firsthand accounts and original source documents portray George Washington as a man of faith who experienced divine guidance and protection on multiple occasions.
Series: “Faith of our Fathers”
The Old Testament provides many examples of individuals whose faithful lives contributed to the building up of national Israel. Their actions inspired a future generation of dedicated people to begin carving out a modern yet Godly nation in the New World. In this series, Dr. Jeffrey Seif focuses on these people of faith. In addition, Christian historian David Barton presents original source documents, chronicling many of America’s Founding Fathers’ beliefs and efforts to anchor this nation to the moorings of belief in the God of Israel.

Caption transcript for Faith of our Fathers: “Faith in Our Leaders” (5/8)

  • 00:01 ♪♪♪ male announcer: Welcome to "Our Jewish Roots." The Word of God has given us
  • 00:12 examples of faith that have shaped virtually every aspect of the believer's life today.
  • 00:17 Where would we be without the examples of Noah,
  • 00:20 Abraham and Isaac David and, ultimately,
  • 00:25 that of Yeshua, Jesus?
  • 00:28 Faith is woven into the fabric of America as well.
  • 00:32 From the pilgrims to John Adams,
  • 00:34 to Patrick Henry and George Washington,
  • 00:38 God's providential hand remained highly esteemed and honored
  • 00:42 above all.
  • 00:44 Faith unshakable, faith unstoppable,
  • 00:48 faith of our Fathers.
  • 00:53 David Hart: We're so glad you've joined us today,
  • 00:54 I am David Hart.
  • 00:56 Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart.
  • 00:57 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: I am Jeffrey Seif,
  • 00:58 and we are looking at the Bible.
  • 01:01 Yes, the Bible, not just the Bible,
  • 01:03 we're interested in our Founding Fathers,
  • 01:05 but goodness, King David is going to come to the floor in
  • 01:09 today's program, a man full of faith.
  • 01:12 David: He had faith as a little boy,
  • 01:14 way back in the day.
  • 01:16 He listened to God's voice.
  • 01:17 Jeffrey: Yes.
  • 01:18 Kirsten: As you did, David, when you were a boy, too.
  • 01:20 Jeffrey: When he proposed to you, no doubt.
  • 01:22 Kirsten: He had some big faith on that one.
  • 01:25 Now let's go to today's teaching as Jeff tells
  • 01:29 us about the faith of our biblical father:
  • 01:32 King David.
  • 01:35 Jeffrey: If David had so much faith,
  • 01:37 some wonder, Why did he take more than one stone?
  • 01:42 We know in the biblical text that he picked up a few.
  • 01:46 We don't know why.
  • 01:47 I don't, some think maybe Goliath had a few brothers.
  • 01:51 I don't know.
  • 01:53 But I'm going to tell you what I do know,
  • 01:56 and there's a lot to know when we look at leadership and faith.
  • 02:00 David's a go-to guy, isn't he?
  • 02:03 Let's go have a look at the book and see what he has to say.
  • 02:06 ♪♪♪
  • 02:15 Jeffrey: Men like David take risks,
  • 02:21 but risk isn't just what men do; women take risks, too.
  • 02:26 The reason why I mention that is David's
  • 02:28 great-great-grandmother Ruth, she took a risk,
  • 02:32 now didn't she?
  • 02:34 She was a foreigner.
  • 02:35 She left Moab with two nickels to rub together,
  • 02:41 not much more, and came with her mother-in-law to Bethlehem,
  • 02:45 it means house of bread.
  • 02:47 You see this grain here?
  • 02:48 Well, David bent down, picked up some stones,
  • 02:51 and the rest is history.
  • 02:53 Ruth bent down, picked up some wheat,
  • 02:56 got the attention of Boaz, and the rest is history.
  • 03:01 You know what they have in common beyond their bloodline?
  • 03:03 I'll tell you what it is right now.
  • 03:05 That if you look at this wheat right here,
  • 03:07 it comes from seeds right here.
  • 03:10 The seed of faith, you've probably heard the term.
  • 03:15 David sowed seeds of faith and he made his way onto
  • 03:18 the biblical pages.
  • 03:20 Ruth sowed seeds of faith and made her way in the
  • 03:24 story through the ages.
  • 03:26 We see it in the Bible.
  • 03:28 Speaking of which, he says in Psalm 27:1,
  • 03:31 "The Lord is my light and my salvation."
  • 03:36 His faith pierces through the darkness,
  • 03:38 and when he speaks of God being his salvation,
  • 03:41 he's not thinking about life on the other side of the grave as
  • 03:45 much as God keeping him out of the grave this side.
  • 03:49 He says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation."
  • 03:51 Helped him in so many ways, through so many battles.
  • 03:54 "Whom shall I fear?"
  • 03:57 He said, "The Lord is the stronghold of my life."
  • 04:00 It's a military term.
  • 04:02 "Of whom shall I dread?"
  • 04:05 There are things to fear. There are things to dread.
  • 04:07 But he learned that God is a shelter amidst the storm.
  • 04:11 He says, "When evildoers approached me to devour my
  • 04:16 flesh, my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell."
  • 04:24 It seems to me that sometimes God's people can get in a little
  • 04:29 bit of trouble.
  • 04:30 We're looking for God to lead us away from difficulties.
  • 04:33 What happens when he leads us to them?
  • 04:35 But leaders go to them and through them,
  • 04:38 and we develop our metal in the process of so doing.
  • 04:42 In fact, it's not just the case with men,
  • 04:45 it is the case with plants, and I mentioned this.
  • 04:48 You might remember in the Johannim Gospel,
  • 04:51 in John chapter 12, verse 24, Jesus said,
  • 04:55 "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,
  • 05:00 it remains alone.
  • 05:02 But if it dies, it bears much fruit."
  • 05:06 There's a sense in which these grains have to disconnect from
  • 05:09 security in order to get on to business with their destiny.
  • 05:15 Now, we've seen it; I've alighted upon it so far
  • 05:17 in this segment.
  • 05:19 We know with David's great-great-grandmother--
  • 05:21 and Ruth was indeed great--
  • 05:23 she disconnected from her security in Moab.
  • 05:27 David had a comfortable gig in his father's farm,
  • 05:30 but no, he takes on Goliath.
  • 05:33 It seems to me that God prompts his people to go after the
  • 05:38 pursuit of their destinies.
  • 05:40 It's the way they're oriented,
  • 05:42 and we see that God helps in the process.
  • 05:46 We're gonna see that later on in the program,
  • 05:48 by the way, when we consider noteworthies in our own culture
  • 05:53 who similarly were guided by a biblical vision--
  • 05:58 never mind biblical virtue-- but a vision for the Lord
  • 06:04 as a protector and as a leader against the troubles of the day.
  • 06:10 This author says, "Though an army besieges me,
  • 06:15 my heart will not fear."
  • 06:18 And there was a war that was fought and, indeed, armies did
  • 06:22 besiege those colonial soldiers, did they not?
  • 06:25 He says, "Though war breaks out against me," he says,
  • 06:29 "In this I will be confident."
  • 06:32 And the word "confidence" comes from the Latin "confide."
  • 06:36 It means "with faith."
  • 06:39 He says, and I quote, "One thing I have asked of the Lord," well,
  • 06:43 I'm sure he had more than one prayer request,
  • 06:45 but it's the principle thing.
  • 06:48 And he says, "And that will I seek after,
  • 06:51 to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life."
  • 06:55 Now, it's a poetic figure of speech.
  • 06:57 He doesn't live his life in church,
  • 06:59 but the point is he is a seeker after God's own heart,
  • 07:03 wants to seek his face.
  • 07:05 He wants to behold, he says, "The beauty of the Lord and
  • 07:09 meditate in his temple."
  • 07:11 He goes on to say, and I'm reading a lot of text,
  • 07:14 but I don't mind doing it.
  • 07:15 He says, "In the day of trouble, he will hide me in his sukkah"--
  • 07:22 that is, in his tabernacle.
  • 07:25 "He will be a pavilion of protection for me."
  • 07:30 And battles rage, don't they?
  • 07:33 That's the bad news.
  • 07:35 The good news, however, is the promise in Scripture that
  • 07:38 "No weapon formed against you will prosper."
  • 07:43 Here we're told in the Psalm, he says,
  • 07:47 "In the day of trouble, God will hide me," he'll conceal me,
  • 07:51 he'll, "Set me high upon a rock."
  • 07:54 There's faith in the ultimate deliverance.
  • 07:57 And then, finally, the last verse that I'll read here in
  • 08:00 verse 6, "Then will my head be high above my enemies around me.
  • 08:07 In his tabernacle, I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
  • 08:13 and I will sing yes, I will sing praises to the Lord."
  • 08:18 I find this in biblical text, individuals look to the Lord
  • 08:22 and are delivered, but I've learned through studies of
  • 08:25 history that it's just not in biblical text alone.
  • 08:30 Individuals who look to the Lord,
  • 08:32 who are marked by destiny are marked by protection as well.
  • 08:37 We're gonna see that as we go, as we take a look at the
  • 08:41 Founders of our culture when we look at the story of the faith
  • 08:45 of our Fathers.
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  • 10:06 Kirsten: Jeff was teaching today about little David,
  • 10:09 little King David, fighting Goliath,
  • 10:11 killing Goliath, and we've learned something on tour,
  • 10:14 haven't we?
  • 10:15 It's just kind of one of those fascinating things--
  • 10:17 that the northern-most point in Israel,
  • 10:20 Mount Hermon, they found giant bones.
  • 10:24 David: They still are.
  • 10:25 Kirsten: Right, they're still finding giant bones.
  • 10:26 So, it's just kind of neat.
  • 10:28 Goliath was real; there are real bones there.
  • 10:30 Here's one fascinating fact.
  • 10:32 On our tours, on a Zola tour, we actually go up north where you
  • 10:37 will be at the base of Mount Hermon,
  • 10:38 and that's where those giant bones are.
  • 10:41 Jeffrey: Yes, thank you for helping us to slay the giants,
  • 10:44 by the way.
  • 10:45 And for us, giants come in the form of bills associated with
  • 10:49 air time.
  • 10:50 Costs a fortune, but you know, Israelites paid in blood to push
  • 10:55 back the Philistines and to fight the giants of their day,
  • 10:58 and we pay it as well today to make God's will and work known
  • 11:03 in the earth.
  • 11:05 And again, thank you for you who help,
  • 11:07 because you, too, are a giant slayer.
  • 11:11 David: Let's step back in time now to 1776 when formative
  • 11:15 steps were taken in the birth of a new nation.
  • 11:18 In his Philadelphia study, a dedicated clergyman takes time
  • 11:22 to uncover some remarkable nuggets of godly faith
  • 11:25 and virtue.
  • 11:27 ♪♪♪
  • 11:36 ♪♪♪
  • 11:37 male: Good day, Betsy.
  • 11:39 Betsy Ross: Good day, sir.
  • 11:41 male: Betsy, I know we've already mentioned
  • 11:45 Mr. Washington, but I must read an event that I consider to be a
  • 11:50 divine miracle, as reflected in his correspondence.
  • 11:53 Betsy: Oh, I want to hear about it, sir.
  • 11:58 male: Twenty years ago, during the French and Indian
  • 12:01 wars, Mr. Washington rode back and forth on horseback
  • 12:05 delivering orders during battle.
  • 12:08 He would later write, to his brother,
  • 12:12 "But by all powerful dispensations of providence,
  • 12:16 I have been protected beyond all human probability
  • 12:19 or expectation.
  • 12:22 For I had four bullets through my coat,
  • 12:24 and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt,
  • 12:28 although death was leveling my companions on every side
  • 12:31 of me."
  • 12:32 Betsy: I believe I've heard tell of this event.
  • 12:35 Surely, it must have been divine intervention.
  • 12:40 male: But have you heard of the remarkable meeting that
  • 12:43 took place some 15 years later regarding this event?
  • 12:47 Betsy: No, sir.
  • 12:49 male: Well, as Washington was traveling through this
  • 12:53 very battle site, he encountered an old Indian chief.
  • 12:57 Hear the words of that chief as he recounted
  • 12:59 the battle to Washington.
  • 13:02 "Quick, let your aim be certain and he dies.
  • 13:07 Our rifles were leveled,
  • 13:08 rifles which but for you knew not how to miss.
  • 13:11 'Twas all in vain.
  • 13:13 A power mightier far than we shielded you."
  • 13:16 Betsy: Mightier, indeed.
  • 13:19 male: "Seeing you were under the special guardianship of
  • 13:22 the Great Spirit, we immediately ceased to fire at you.
  • 13:26 Something bids me speak in the voice of prophecy."
  • 13:31 Betsy: Prophecy, from an Indian?
  • 13:34 male: Listen, "The Great Spirit protects that man
  • 13:39 and guides his destinies.
  • 13:42 He will become the chief of nations and a people yet
  • 13:46 unborn will hail him as the founder of a mighty empire.
  • 13:52 I am come to pay homage to the man who is the particular
  • 13:56 favorite of heaven and who can never die in battle."
  • 14:01 Betsy: Extraordinary, makes one wonder.
  • 14:05 male: And yet another Indian warrior from the same battle
  • 14:09 wrote, "Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet.
  • 14:16 I had 17 fair fires at him with my rifle,
  • 14:19 and after all could not bring him to the ground."
  • 14:26 Betsy: It is no wonder, sir, that the six boats under his
  • 14:31 command fly this flag aboard their vessels.
  • 14:35 Clearly, heaven has earthly plans for Mr. Washington.
  • 14:43 Jeffrey: I love history and love bringing to you an expert
  • 14:47 who knows it better than me,
  • 14:50 particularly when it comes to early America.
  • 14:53 David Barton shines a flashlight on George Washington.
  • 14:57 We know him, but there's all kinds of interesting things
  • 15:01 that we don't know about him, at least not till now.
  • 15:05 Here we go.
  • 15:08 Jeffrey: I think it must have been an exciting time
  • 15:10 to be alive.
  • 15:12 Individuals that are drawing upon biblical vision,
  • 15:15 value, virtue, and before them is a new world.
  • 15:19 And when I look at the picture you brought with,
  • 15:21 I think of these people that are so much informed by a biblical
  • 15:24 world view.
  • 15:25 David Barton: They were informed by biblical world view, and they
  • 15:27 really saw biblical destiny and purpose in a lot of
  • 15:30 what happened.
  • 15:31 George Washington, this last episode was on George
  • 15:33 Washington; he's a great example.
  • 15:35 And what we saw in that episode was so much of
  • 15:38 his young commander mode, when he was a young colonel in the
  • 15:42 French and Indian War.
  • 15:44 And even the Indian chief saying
  • 15:45 "Hey, you were born to never be killed by a bullet."
  • 15:49 It's interesting, that is what launched George Washington into
  • 15:53 international notoriety.
  • 15:54 That's where he became known in England as well as here,
  • 15:57 and part of the reason was a sermon like this.
  • 16:00 This is a sermon; this is actually from 1755.
  • 16:03 It's preached by Samuel Davies, and it has a little footnote
  • 16:06 down here, and it says we've just heard about this young
  • 16:09 man named George Washington, and we've heard the miraculous
  • 16:12 intervention that occurred where God saved his life.
  • 16:15 And he says when God performed such great miracles for someone
  • 16:20 that young, we need to keep our eyes on this guy.
  • 16:22 He's probably gonna be somebody special someday.
  • 16:24 And so, that's the early introduction to America
  • 16:27 and to England of George Washington.
  • 16:29 And of course he became a military figure,
  • 16:31 what he did as a young man.
  • 16:34 This actually is a military order given by Abraham Lincoln.
  • 16:38 So, this is Lincoln's military order,
  • 16:40 but what's interesting is he's quoting George Washington.
  • 16:42 He's just reissuing Washington's order,
  • 16:45 and here's what it says.
  • 16:46 It says, "The general hopes and trusts that every officer and
  • 16:49 man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian
  • 16:52 soldier defending our dearest rights
  • 16:54 and liberties to our country."
  • 16:56 So Washington, even at the very beginning,
  • 16:58 when he became commander-in-chief in the
  • 16:59 American Revolution, he says okay, guys, I want you to live
  • 17:03 and act like a Christian soldier.
  • 17:05 I want your behavior to be right.
  • 17:07 He told 'em in some of his orders,
  • 17:09 he said we can't win against the British without God's help.
  • 17:13 And we can't get God's help if we take him off.
  • 17:16 So, here's the deal: no profanity allowed anywhere
  • 17:18 in the military, because that violates
  • 17:20 one of the commandments.
  • 17:21 And he just went through the commands and said,
  • 17:23 "Here's what God says, that's what we're gonna do,
  • 17:25 'cause we can't get his blessing if we don't do that."
  • 17:27 So the tone of Washington from the very beginning was strongly
  • 17:30 biblical, strongly religious.
  • 17:32 Jeffrey: Yes, and he was open to others.
  • 17:34 In fact, he was open to Jewish people.
  • 17:37 He wrote a famous letter to the synagogue in Rhode Island,
  • 17:40 but beyond that, he petitioned Jews to help him when he was
  • 17:44 holed up in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
  • 17:46 Haym Solomon, a Jewish financier in Philadelphia raised the money
  • 17:50 on the quick to help retool them.
  • 17:53 David: There were so many Jewish patriots
  • 17:55 in the American Revolution.
  • 17:57 You have the leader of patriot forces in Georgia
  • 18:00 was Mordecai Sheftall.
  • 18:03 You had so many Jewish leaders that were close to Washington,
  • 18:07 and it's interesting his inauguration,
  • 18:09 he was inaugurated in 1789, first president,
  • 18:12 there were 14 religious leaders who set up his inauguration,
  • 18:16 had seven religious activities in it,
  • 18:18 and it was made up of both rabbis and Christian ministers.
  • 18:22 And they set that inauguration up,
  • 18:23 and so, you even mentioned that letter that he sent
  • 18:26 to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, 1790.
  • 18:30 That letter is two sentences long,
  • 18:33 and in it, Washington quotes ten Bible verses in two sentences.
  • 18:37 One of the most amazing letters I've ever seen,
  • 18:39 and his knowledge to the Bible came through when he wrote,
  • 18:42 and he quoted so many Old Testament promises as he
  • 18:45 was writing that congregation.
  • 18:46 Jeffrey: Yeah, well, let's just tear him down and make
  • 18:48 him a racist.
  • 18:49 We see him hundreds of years--
  • 18:50 I'm saying that facetiously, you know.
  • 18:52 Hundreds of years ago, we see him extending his arms beyond
  • 18:55 his own personal, intellectual, emotional,
  • 18:58 and spiritual horizons as an extension of Christian faith
  • 19:01 and virtue to welcome the brother from another mother.
  • 19:04 David: That's right, and it's interesting,
  • 19:06 I mean, you look at Washington.
  • 19:08 He did own slaves, but it was very much against his will.
  • 19:11 He started inheriting slaves when he was 11,
  • 19:13 and he lived in a state that would not allow him to free
  • 19:15 his own slaves.
  • 19:17 They finally, after the Revolution,
  • 19:18 passed an exception and said,
  • 19:20 "When you die, you can free your slaves, and he did.
  • 19:22 When he died, he freed 'em, but it's interesting that as
  • 19:24 president, he signed two national anti-slavery laws.
  • 19:29 He actually signed the law that said no other territory in the
  • 19:32 United States can have slaves, and that's why Ohio
  • 19:35 and Indiana and Illinois and other states came in as
  • 19:37 anti-slave states, but he did not like slavery.
  • 19:40 He fought against it, but he inherited slaves,
  • 19:42 and his state wouldn't let him free 'em,
  • 19:44 and so now we condemn him as being a racist when he actually
  • 19:47 fought against slavery.
  • 19:49 And so, because we say well, he wasn't a good guy,
  • 19:52 he couldn't have been religious.
  • 19:53 Actually, there are so many of his generals and his officers
  • 19:58 who gave testimony that this book came out in 1919,
  • 20:01 it's called "George Washington the Christian."
  • 20:03 And it's nothing but the eyewitness testimony of all
  • 20:06 those who were with him.
  • 20:08 But before this book came out, this one came out in 1832.
  • 20:12 There's actually 12 volumes of this.
  • 20:13 I brought volume 12.
  • 20:15 These are the writings of George Washington.
  • 20:17 These are the first set of letters they had of his,
  • 20:20 and this was done by the president of Harvard University,
  • 20:23 Jared Sparks, who was a historian.
  • 20:25 And in the last part of volume 12,
  • 20:27 the last half here, he says, "You know,
  • 20:30 there's people who question whether Washington really
  • 20:32 was a Christian or not."
  • 20:34 And so he wrote to the people who knew him,
  • 20:35 and he wrote to George Washington's daughter
  • 20:38 Nellie; she was actually the granddaughter,
  • 20:40 but her parents died, so Washington adopted her,
  • 20:42 and he said, "Look, you lived with Washington 20 years in
  • 20:44 Mount Vernon, was he really a Christian?
  • 20:48 And so, Nellie went through and said,
  • 20:49 "Well, one time my aunt was sick, lying in front of the
  • 20:52 fireplace, actually died.
  • 20:54 Washington didn't know she died; he came through and laid hands
  • 20:56 on her and prayed for her, prayed that God would heal her."
  • 20:59 She said she went through all this religious stuff Washington
  • 21:03 did out of the public eye.
  • 21:05 She said, "You might as well question his patriotism as
  • 21:07 question his Christianity.
  • 21:09 And nobody was gonna question his patriotism."
  • 21:11 So we knew he was a Christian then,
  • 21:13 but today we've so demeaned him, and so pushed him aside that
  • 21:16 he's no longer the figure he should be.
  • 21:18 Jeffrey: Yeah, I don't think it's fair to judge people from
  • 21:20 1776 by standards that prevail in 1976.
  • 21:24 Slavery was ubiquitous in culture.
  • 21:26 Was he kind? Was he brutal?
  • 21:29 Does he look at these as employees as opposed to
  • 21:32 property to be abused?
  • 21:34 I think we need to look a little deeper.
  • 21:36 David: We do, and that's always part of the context,
  • 21:39 because we know things now that they didn't know back then.
  • 21:42 And you don't judge people today by their standards,
  • 21:45 which is why I think it's significant in the Bible,
  • 21:47 it says Noah was righteous in his generation.
  • 21:51 Because if you look at Noah after he got off the ship
  • 21:54 with the vineyard, he got fall down, dead drunk and was naked
  • 21:56 in front of his kids, got the kids in trouble.
  • 21:58 That's not great, but he's not that generation where they were
  • 22:01 killing and murdering and raping so bad that God said
  • 22:04 "Let's just wipe 'em all out and save Noah and his family."
  • 22:06 He was righteous in his generation.
  • 22:08 And that's the way Washington was.
  • 22:10 He's not where we are today, but man,
  • 22:12 when you compare him to everything else going
  • 22:14 on back then, he is so far ahead in what he did,
  • 22:17 even with the slaves.
  • 22:18 He paid them for their work.
  • 22:20 He did not consider them, you know,
  • 22:23 what you owe to me, he allowed them to earn money so they could
  • 22:26 be free.
  • 22:27 So far ahead of where most slave masters were then.
  • 22:30 And again, he did free his slaves when the law let him
  • 22:32 do so.
  • 22:34 Jeffrey: Yes, you know, just lost history,
  • 22:36 and fools just tear his statues down.
  • 22:41 "Let's just rage."
  • 22:43 David: Well, there's a good likelihood you can
  • 22:46 say that America would not exist today without George Washington.
  • 22:50 He's the only man elected president
  • 22:51 with no opposition ever.
  • 22:53 He was the unanimous choice, the only unanimous choice.
  • 22:56 The Constitution would not have happened without him.
  • 22:59 I mean, you can say he's got flaws,
  • 23:01 and he did, but God used him to create a great nation.
  • 23:04 Jeffrey: Well, I don't wanna correct you, the historian.
  • 23:06 My understanding of the only opposition was himself.
  • 23:10 He didn't want it at first, they had to rope him into it.
  • 23:13 He wasn't going after power.
  • 23:15 David: No, he would love to have retired back to his farm,
  • 23:18 and been there at the farm, but he said,
  • 23:20 "You know, my life is not my own.
  • 23:21 If the people call me to serve 'em,
  • 23:22 God wants me to serve people," and that's what he did.
  • 23:25 But he would have preferred to be on his farm.
  • 23:27 Jeffrey: Yeah, the word "ministry" comes from
  • 23:28 the Latin "minus," which means "less than."
  • 23:31 It's great to be of service, a Christian virtue.
  • 23:33 Thank you for helping us to explore the faith
  • 23:36 of our Fathers.
  • 23:38 David: My pleasure, Jeff, thanks.
  • 23:41 announcer: Our resources this week:
  • 23:43 two books by Christian historian David Barton.
  • 23:46 First, "America's Godly Heritage."
  • 23:49 This book details what the Founding Fathers intended
  • 23:51 for America and what can be done to return to its original
  • 23:55 guiding philosophy, or "The Bulletproof George Washington."
  • 23:59 In this riveting account of God's providence and protection
  • 24:02 of the young solider who later became our first president.
  • 24:06 Contact us for more information.
  • 24:11 David: Quite the history lesson today for all of us,
  • 24:14 and we just need to get this out of the way.
  • 24:15 One thing that we didn't really realize or think about too much
  • 24:19 is George Washington, he had slaves.
  • 24:22 Kirsten: It's what they did back then, right?
  • 24:24 We don't condone it as a ministry.
  • 24:26 We're not pro-slavery, but even in the Bible times,
  • 24:30 there were slaves in the Bible times, right?
  • 24:32 Jeffrey: Yes, but they weren't allowed to be
  • 24:33 whipped cruelly.
  • 24:35 It's more like employer, employee--
  • 24:38 someone who works for you,
  • 24:39 a blue-collar worker, rather than it is some human cattle
  • 24:42 that you just exploit.
  • 24:44 Kirsten: All right, well David Barton was also saying that
  • 24:46 didn't George Washington pay his slaves?
  • 24:49 I mean, he took care of them very well.
  • 24:50 Jeffrey: Yes, it's radical for its day and time,
  • 24:52 and it's worthy of bringing attention to, to your point.
  • 24:57 Similarly, there was someone else in the day,
  • 24:59 his name was Uriah Levy, the first Jew in the American Navy
  • 25:06 to rise to the rank of commodore,
  • 25:09 which is comparable to admiral.
  • 25:12 Guess what he did?
  • 25:13 He abolished flogging in the Navy,
  • 25:16 which was a common disciplinary practice.
  • 25:19 He got rid of that.
  • 25:20 He wrote the first book on Naval discipline and administration,
  • 25:25 got rid of it--
  • 25:26 a Jew in the early Navy, interesting, yes?
  • 25:29 Kirsten: Showing love, showing God's love to people and
  • 25:32 taking care of people.
  • 25:33 Jeffrey: Yes, you know, there's always godly people
  • 25:36 around in different places, spotlights are never shined
  • 25:40 on them.
  • 25:41 That's why I'm glad that you're here watching this program,
  • 25:45 not just watching us, per say, but David Barton,
  • 25:47 going back to the original sources,
  • 25:49 learning new things, how biblical faith and virtue
  • 25:52 is so much part of America in the early days.
  • 25:55 It's a worthy story to tell, and it's been lost.
  • 25:57 Kirsten: And the good news is that George Washington,
  • 26:00 upon his death, freed his slaves.
  • 26:03 He redeemed them, just as we serve someone named Yeshua,
  • 26:08 named Jesus Christ, who redeemed the world.
  • 26:12 All you have to do is ask him to come into your life.
  • 26:14 You can't ask George Washington to come into your life,
  • 26:17 but we have a Savior that can change us and redeem us.
  • 26:20 Jeffrey: To that point, you know,
  • 26:21 a president of the United States is not our Savior,
  • 26:23 but it's good to have a president who is in tune
  • 26:26 with biblical values and vision, like our first.
  • 26:29 Kirsten: Great program today, thank you.
  • 26:31 David: It has been.
  • 26:32 Thank you so much for joining us today.
  • 26:34 We end this program with a song from our founder, Zola Levitt.
  • 26:36 Jeffrey: And a Word from the Scripture.
  • 26:38 [speaking in Hebrew]
  • 26:40 Kirsten: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
  • 26:43 ♪♪♪
  • 26:45 ♪ Giving us our heart's desire. ♪
  • 26:46 ♪ May all the people praise you, ♪
  • 26:49 ♪ sing and dance before you. ♪
  • 26:51 ♪ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. ♪
  • 26:56 ♪ You have made us now your people, ♪
  • 26:58 ♪ brought us back from all the nations. ♪
  • 27:00 ♪ You were teaching us in exile how to love you undefiled. ♪
  • 27:05 ♪ All the people praise you, ♪
  • 27:07 ♪ sing and dance before you. ♪
  • 27:09 ♪ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, ♪
  • 27:14 ♪ King of all the kingdoms, Creator of creation, ♪
  • 27:18 ♪ author of salvation, armies strong in heaven. ♪
  • 27:23 ♪ We are called to be your people for eternity, ♪
  • 27:26 ♪ your nation. ♪
  • 27:28 ♪ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. ♪
  • 27:31 ♪♪♪
  • 27:41 ♪♪♪
  • 27:48 CC by Aberdeen Captioning 1-800-688-6621 abercap.com
  • 27:53 ♪ May all the people praise you, ♪
  • 27:55 ♪ sing and dance before you. ♪
  • 27:57 ♪ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, ♪
  • 28:02 ♪ King of all the kingdoms, Creator of creation, ♪
  • 28:06 ♪ author of salvation, armies strong in heaven. ♪
  • 28:11 ♪ We are called to be your people for eternity, ♪
  • 28:14 ♪ your nation. ♪
  • 28:15 ♪ Make a joyful noise. ♪
  • 28:17 ♪ Make a joyful noise. ♪
  • 28:20 ♪ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. ♪♪

Episodes in this series

  1. What is Faith
  2. Faith by Trial
  3. Faith in the Unseen
  4. Faith to Build a Nation Upon
  5. Faith in Our Leaders
  6. The Cost of Faith
  7. The Actions of the Faithful
  8. The Application of Faith

Links from this show

Guest organizations and links