Save America Ministries

Voiceover: This is Viewpoint with attorney and author Chuck Crismier. Viewpoint is a one-hour talk show confronting the issues of America’s heart and home. And now with today’s edition of Viewpoint, here is Chuck Crismier.

Chuck Crismier: What if you knew that there was a means whereby everything that is happening in your home behind closed doors could be available, could be seen, could be heard, could be understood, and could be brought public? What would be your reaction? Everybody's talking about these Flock cameras out there. We're not going to go into a great deal concerning the Flock cameras today, but apparently these are very unusual. They're everywhere, they're flocking everywhere, and they're tracking people, tracking people wherever they go.

But what if the same ability could be brought to light inside our homes, inside our churches, inside the inner sanctums of our lives? What would happen? What do you think would be the result? Well, here is one illustration of that. This very day, a member of the United States Congress in North Carolina ended his reelection campaign two days after the House Ethics Committee formally recommended his censure over what it described as persistent unprofessional conduct toward two young female staffers behind closed doors.

The withdrawal follows a bipartisan House Ethics Committee report that found substantial evidence that this congressman violated the House Code of Official Conduct by failing to adhere to the spirit of rules barring sexual harassment and unwanted advances. But the committee wrote that the pattern of behavior including lavish gifts, late-night texts, private dinners, paid trips to New York and Las Vegas would lead a reasonable observer to interpret his actions as thinly veiled advances.

A House GOP leadership aide said that the caucus saw no path forward for this congressman to avoid censure when the chamber returns from August recess. So, this day, that congressman resigned. That is, he refused to continue on with his reelection campaign even though he was a sure fit. He was a sure winner for the election. Question: Why would a congressman act like that?

Why would a congressman engage in behavior that was obviously not only unprofessional but actually immoral? Why would he skirt the edges of propriety in order to achieve what? What was his purpose? What was his motivation? What was driving him to do that? Well, another question would be: What drives you and I to do certain things that we do, to make choices that we make, to engage in behavior that we engage in?

Let’s suppose that a Flock camera was in your home and was discerning everything you watched on TV. What would be the result? If that were made public, what would be the result? Let’s suppose that such a camera also revealed everything you said to your husband or said to your wife. What would be the result if it were made public? Here's the problem: it will be made public because Jesus said so.

Did you know that? It will be made public because Jesus said so. In fact, he said everything that is done behind the scenes and behind closed doors, everything that is done in secret, will be made public. Wow, imagine that. And welcome to Viewpoint. I'm Chuck Crismier. Our conversation is always with ever-increasing conviction, talk that transforms. And indeed, perhaps those questions should actually bring about a motivation for transformation.

The problem is we're engaged in a battle. We're engaged in a kind of warfare. The apostle Paul talked about it as the battle between the carnal nature and the spiritual nature or the spiritual mind. And he said the carnal nature or fleshly mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So we've got this carnal nature and we've got our fleshly nature that are warring now against that which we claim to be our spiritual nature, having been claimed to be born again but not living like it.

What happens behind closed doors? So again, I welcome you to Viewpoint. I'm Chuck Crismier. Our conversation as always with ever-increasing conviction, talk that transforms. I had a call from one of our listeners who is a regular listener up in the Massachusetts area. And he was explaining to me concerns and situations that he had with regard to things going on in his place of work and what he sees in the nature of Massachusetts life and up there in the Northeast.

And deep concerns about what's going on in families and so on. And what's happening behind closed doors, he says, this is not a good place. Things are not happening well. And the moment he used that phrase "behind closed doors," I said, "You know what? That's the title for a program coming up: 'Behind Closed Doors.'" So, it may be uncomfortable to think about that, but indeed, we should think about it.

I want to call your attention, remind you concerning a book that came out in 1984. In fact, that's what it was called, *1984*. What happened? What was that book about? Well, I remember reading that book and it said something about inside people's homes would be cameras or television screens. There would be screens and so on inside everyone's home so that the government would be able to understand everything that was said, everything that was done.

Nothing would be out of touch from the knowledge, from public knowledge. Therefore, beware, take heed, because what is being done behind closed doors is going to be made public. And beware because depending on what it is that's happening behind those closed doors may not inure to your benefit. Well, consider this: in Revelation chapter 3, Jesus spoke to a church called the church at Laodicea.

It was the seventh of the seven churches of Asia right there in the Book of Revelation chapter 3. And he said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Now, an awful lot of people have translated that—pastors have wrongly translated that—to mean that God is standing at the door of unbelievers and knocking. So please let him in so that you can be saved. No, that's not the picture of the Book of Revelation or of the seven churches of Asia.

These were churches. These were the people who claimed to be followers of Jesus Christ. These were the people who claimed to be his disciples. And Jesus said, "Behold, I'm standing at your door and knocking." What else did he have to say? And why would it be important for you and for me today? Oh friends, it's important beyond measure and we'll be right back to talk about it. This is Viewpoint, and Viewpoint determines destiny.

Chuck Crismier: Once upon a time, children could pray and read their Bibles in school. Divorces were practically unknown as was child abuse. In our once great America, virginity and chastity were popular virtues and homosexuality was an abomination. So what happened in just one generation? Hi, I'm Chuck Crismier and I urge you to join me daily on Viewpoint where we discuss the most challenging issues touching our hearts and homes. Could America's moral slide relate to the Fourth Commandment? Listen to Viewpoint on this radio station or anytime at saveus.org.

Chuck Crismier: I remember the words of Scripture, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer." What does that mean? The words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart? In other words, the meditation of my heart is something that cannot be seen on the outside but is definitely real on the inside. So that's the nature of the Scripture. That is the nature of the message of the Gospel.

The nature of the message of the Bible is to deal with not that which is on the outside, but that which is on the inside. In other words, God wants to turn us inside out so that what's on the inside becomes consistent with what we say we believe on the outside. That's why Jesus had to rebuke the Pharisees. Remember? He had to rebuke them consistently because on the outside they made things look good and clean and nice. But on the inside he said you're full of dead men's bones and you ain't looking pretty in my sight.

So, when we go to the Book of Revelation chapter 3 and we see there Jesus's confrontation with the church at Laodicea, it's not a pretty picture. In fact, he says, "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will open the door"—now he's talking to believers now. This is a church. These are the people in the church. "If anyone will open the door and let me in, I will come into you and sup with you and you with me." In other words, we're going to get back on a good footing.

We're going to get back on a good footing. But he says what I understand is what's happening behind your closed doors is not acceptable to me. In fact, it's so unacceptable that I'm going to vomit you out of my mouth. That's what Jesus said. He said, "I wish you were either hot or cold but you're not hot or cold. You're a bunch of lukewarm professing believers. Therefore, I can't stand you. I can't stand you.

Your behavior, your attitudes, your life, your thoughts, your actions, your values and so on behind closed doors do not resemble that which I expect from people who claim my name. Therefore, you're out of here. But if any man, if any one of you will open the door and let me in so that I can see what's really going on and you and I can come clean about this situation, so it'll all be revealed. You're going to come clean, you're going to confess your sin, you're going to come clean and realize that you can't live that way.

You can't continue to hide the truth. You're going to have to come clean because what is happening behind closed doors will ultimately be shouted from the rooftops and certainly at the Great White Throne Judgment." So, all that having been said, setting the stage now, we talk about what do we do? How do we live? I know this is a very probing kind of a thing because the moment I ask this question—behind closed doors—I'm not just focusing on you. All of my fingers are coming back to me.

What's happening behind my closed doors? What happens when I go on the computer? What happens when I open a book? What happens when I turn on the television? What happens when I talk with my wife? What happens in my thoughts concerning various issues? Because the Scripture says as a man thinks in his heart, so he really is. As a man or woman thinks in her heart, so she really is. So our thoughts define who we really are.

So what kind of thoughts do we have? Those are closed doors in our minds. Nobody's getting inside your mind until it comes out of your mouth. So Jesus said that which comes out of the mouth is what defiles. "By your words," he said, "you should be justified and by your words you should be condemned." Why? Because they're a reflection of what really is, the real truth inside of us. Now, that's a pretty strong thing to hear, to say, that our very words are that potent. But they are.

And that's why Jesus said, "If you'll continue in my word, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free." But if you don't continue in my word and you continue doing what you want to do behind closed doors and thinking the thoughts that you want to think and saying the things that you want to say and doing the things that you want to do and going to the places that you want to go and embracing the spirit of the culture rather than my spirit, then you've got a problem.

But if any man will open the door and let me in so that I can see what's really going on and you and I can come clean about this situation. So, in the Book of Isaiah chapter 1, the very kind of situation occurs. God says through Isaiah, "Woe to the sinful nation. Ah, sinful nation. The whole heart is sick. You're not a pretty picture. The inside of your nation is unbelievable. It's not acceptable in my sight." Now, who was he talking to?

Israel. The ones who claimed to be chosen. They were chosen. They were the elect. God said so. They were the elect. But they made themselves unelectable. How? Because they did not embrace the word, will, and ways of the one who elected them. And so while they were capable or in the position of a group to be elected, they voluntarily excised themselves from the group. So only those who would truly follow the Lord with a whole heart and do his will and obey his voice like Jesus did, only they would be acceptable in the ultimate group of the elect called a remnant.

Now, all that having been said, we're putting a whole lot of things in context here. It may seem like we're dancing all over the place, but we're not really dancing all over the place. We're putting a whole lot of things in a picture so that we can understand the greater fullness of the import of what the Scripture has to say, what God has had to say from the very, very beginning and what he's saying to us today: what's going on behind closed doors.

Now, that having been said, you may recall that I wrote a book called *The Power to Overcome*. *The Power to Overcome*. Now, why would Christians need to have a book like this? Well, the reason is because we're being overcome. Because what's happening behind closed doors ain't pretty. It's not pretty. How do we know it's not pretty? Well, when the divorce rate for the past 50, 60 years in the church has almost equaled that of the nation as a whole; the divorce rate among pastors is equaled that of their parishioners; and the divorce rate in the Bible Belt of America for 25 years exceeded the nation as a whole by 50 percent, you know that what's going on behind closed doors ain't pretty.

It's not pleasing to God and we're being overcome. Our kids know that we're being overcome. And so with the baby boomer generation—followed by Generation X after that—those two generations carried on the engine of the divorce culture. So the children of the baby boomers and Generation X experienced the radical brokenness of homes in the church all across America. Largely starting in Southern California and spreading like wildfire all across the country. I watched it happen right there from the starting place in Southern California.

It was a very painful thing to see. In the practice of law for 20 years in the largest family law court of the nation, 40 percent of my practice was there in the Los Angeles Superior Court system and 80 percent of my clientele came from the broader body of Christ. 80 percent. They were looking for a Christian lawyer. Why were they looking for a Christian lawyer? Because they wanted a lawyer to tell them what they wanted to hear in the name of Christ.

But I didn't do that. Every single person that came in, I did my very best in kindness, but in truth, to help them to understand the seriousness of the decisions that they were making and what brought them to that point. But in almost every situation they all made the decision contrary to the word and will of God. In almost every situation. Very painful to watch.

And so the best that I could do was what God told Moses to do: "Okay, let them get their bill of divorcement. Do the best you can to resolve the issues in a way that's fair and equitable and honorable with regard to all the kids that are going to echo down for the next generations that are going to bear the brunt and burden of all that broken family." Do the best you can, my son. And that's what I did.

Why is it that that happened? Because God's people were being overcome and still are. I'm trying to put this in a way that we can really, really, really understand without dancing around and pretending that somehow we don't fit into this picture because we do. Then in my hands right now is an article titled "Five reasons more Americans are cutting off their own parents." In other words, children are breaking away from their parents.

Now this is a very painful thing, isn't it? Maybe you're a mom, maybe you're a dad, maybe you're a grandparent and you're experiencing this kind of situation. My wife and I have ten grandchildren and three children and we are experiencing aspects of this kind of tension that goes on. Why is this happening? In large measure it's either because the parents did not conduct themselves godly or the children are rebelling against that which their parents stand for even in the name of Christ because they're being led astray.

How are they being led astray? Well, by the colleges and universities their parents are sending them to, which are divesting them of all remnant of biblical authority and placing them under the authority of the culture. Or the parents gave such a terrible example behind closed doors of what it meant to be a Christian, what it meant to be a Christian parent, that the children say I don't want any part of that.

In other words, there are echoing consequences and we are being overcome. I seriously doubt you cannot relate to that. My wife has been involved with a number of groups of women and so on and she says, "Chuck, you'd be surprised—maybe you wouldn't be surprised—that this is one of the biggest issues that parents are dealing with." But why are they dealing with this? What is going on? Friends, there is a war going on.

You can call it a culture war if you want, but really that's not what it is. The culture is merely the symptom of what's going on in the heart of we the people. It's a spiritual battle and we're losing. That's why I wrote the book *The Power to Overcome*. I wrote the book because Jesus himself said this is going to be the ultimate issue. That's why he sandwiched this issue in the Book of Revelation, the first three chapters dealing with the seven churches of Asia, representing professing believers in the then-time church, representing the now-time church and the end-time church.

Applicable to all of us. And the message to every one of them was "He that overcometh, he that overcometh." Now, a lot of the professing Christians in those churches were not overcomers. That's why Jesus wrote to them. In one he said you've left your first love. In another they were engaged in so much sexual immorality and problems. Jesus said I'm going to kill your children. He did, the church of Thyatira.

This is not a game. This is war, friends. *The Power to Overcome: How to Triumph in Troubled Times*. And I hope you'll get a copy of the book. $25 will put it in your hands, brand new off the press. *How to Triumph in Troubled Times*. Call us 1-800-SAVE-USA, go to the website saveus.org, or write to us at $6 for postage and handling. Get it now.

Voiceover: There is so much more about Chuck Crismier and Save America Ministries on our website, saveus.org. For example, under the marriage section: God has marriage on his mind. Chuck has some great resources to strengthen your marriage. First off, a fact sheet on the state of the marital union, a fact sheet on the state of ministry, marriage, and morals. saveus.org. Marriage, divorce, and remarriage: what does the Bible really teach about this? Find all of this at saveus.org. Also, a letter to pastors: the Hosea Project. saveus.org and many more resources to strengthen your marriage. It's all on Chuck's website, saveus.org. Again, you can listen to Chuck's Viewpoint broadcasts live and archived at Save America Ministry's website at saveus.org.

Chuck Crismier: Again, I welcome you back to Viewpoint. Let's talk a little bit more about the power to overcome. What it is that we're trying to overcome? What is it we need to overcome? Why did Jesus feel it was so important? Why did he tell us in Matthew chapter 24, two days before his crucifixion, that the number one problem facing his people would be deception? You see, we're deceived into being overcome.

But who deceives us? Well, there are three areas of deception: one is the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world, the flesh, and the devil. Now we know about those three, but it's kind of like it just goes over our head. It doesn't connect. The dots don't connect in our minds and our hearts. And in many respects our pastors are not teaching and preaching in such a way that the word would ever connect because the pastor is concerned that that might not make the people happy.

Well, God isn't interested in making us happy, but he is wanting to make us holy. Because without holiness no man will even see the Lord. That's what the Book of Hebrews tells us, chapter 12: without holiness no man will ever see the Lord. So we want to make sure that our lives are somehow more closely aligned even though not one of us is perfect, not one of us.

And every single time I get behind the mic, I've got to tell you, you know, it's like, Chuck, do you realize what you're doing? You're saying to people this is what they need to be doing, this is how they need to be living, but how are you living? You see. So it's a very convicting position to be in. That's the reason why the Scripture says that those who teach and preach who have a responsibility to deliver the message are going to be held to much greater standard than those who just hear.

And I realize that. It's a serious thing to carry the authority of presenting the word of God. But we have to do it. Woe to me if I teach not or preach not the gospel. I think it was Jeremiah who said, "Woe to me if I don't do that." All right. So let me take you on a little journey to chapter 6 of my new book, *The Power to Overcome*. It’s called "The Conquests of Satan."

First of all, we have the carnality of the flesh, and then we have the collision of our culture, that's the world. So we have the world, the flesh, and the devil. Now, the devil didn't make me do it. The devil doesn't make you do anything. He seduces you to do what he wants you to do. And we are amazingly compliant. That's how he dealt with Eve in the garden. Remember? He didn't misquote the Bible. He just asked Eve a simple question: "Hath God said?"

So he set her up with what God had said and then he took what God had said and put a spin on it. And that's what he does with you and with me. That's how the whole divorce culture began in this country. For years and years, decades, generations, divorce was always looked upon in this country as a Christian country as that which was totally unacceptable. It's true. But then came 1968, right at the tail of the sexual revolution and the ultimate western rebellion against all authority, including God's authority.

It was a great truthquake that took place in the mid-1960s just as my wife and I were getting married, which we just celebrated our 60th having been married in 1966. So what happened is Satan deceived through marriage. How did he do that? Because he convinced us that what God really wants is for you to be happy, not holy. So what he did is exactly the same thing that he did with Eve in the garden.

He asked Eve, "Did God say this?" "Yes, God did say, 'Don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat thereof you shall surely die.'" And Satan responded and said, "Hey, God wants you to feel good. Don't you want to feel good? Don't you want to enjoy this good fruit? Hey, if you eat this good fruit, you're going to get everything that you want. In fact, you'll even be like God because you're going to know good and evil."

So people will take their feelings that were introduced by the confluence of the sexual revolution and the explosion of psychology in America and in the church. It started in Southern California. And so divorce became to be justified in God's house. Did God justify it? No. Was it an unpardonable sin to divorce your spouse? No. There could be—although it was never God's desire—Jesus himself said it was not the will of God ever to divorce.

Ever. It was all due to the hardness of the heart. Notice it all goes back to the heart. The hardness of the heart in the family, in the husband and wife, in those who claim to be Christians. Are you beginning to get the picture? Now it's not—we're not trying to be mean to people here. We're trying to help us to understand the carnage that has been created, that Satan himself has created in our country.

We call it the culture wars, but they're not the culture wars. They're the spiritual wars that we have lost over and over and over again. So much so that 15 years ago Dr. James Dobson who just recently passed, who started Focus on the Family, admitted to me on live radio from the floor of the National Religious Broadcasters Convention—he said, "Chuck, we have already lost the culture wars." Do you know what he was really saying?

We've lost the spiritual wars because the culture wars were the consequence of the spiritual wars going on in God's own house. Do you think we might need the power to overcome? You think we might need some encouragement? You think we might need some head coaches to come along and say, "Hey, come on team, something's wrong here"? We're not ready for the second coming. Jesus said, "I'm not coming back for a bride with spot or wrinkle or any such thing."

We've got to get ready. Something's gotten way off track here. Right? Right. So, lurking in our flesh is the unspoken will to be deceived. It's just there unfortunately, but it is there because we're born in sin, as the Scripture says: "In sin did my mother conceive me." It's true. That's why the whole doctrine of original sin. That is inherent in our flesh and it produces corruption and it must be overcome. How do we do that?

By the Spirit. "If we will live in the Spirit, we will not submit to the authority of the flesh." That's what the Scripture says. "Walk in the Spirit rather and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh." But what does it mean to walk in the Spirit? First of all, it means to take God's word as final and ultimate authority no matter what your feelings say, no matter what the psychologist or therapist says, no matter what the pastor says, no matter what the culture says, no matter what anybody else says, including yours truly.

What has God said? And how you respond to that will determine whether you're an overcomer or not. If you say "Yes, but," you're going to be overcome. If you say "Yes, sir" and then conform your life accordingly and repent and confess where you've gone astray, awry—which we all have by the way—then you're going to be an overcomer. And to overcome is not a one-time thing. It's an all-time thing. Every day, in every way, we must be overcomers.

Now, let's talk about the devil. The devil didn't make you do it, see. It's within our hearts to be deceived. But the devil is our adversary. He's not our advocate. He's not on your side. He may—he will present himself as if he is on your side like he did with Eve in the garden. But he's not. He's a deceiver. He's the master of lies and deceiver, not our advocate. So our problem as professing followers of Jesus is that even though we inwardly know Satan is our adversary, we nevertheless act in response to his devices as if he's our advocate.

Isn't that amazing? And that pattern, as I said, began in the Garden of Eden, has persisted to our perpetual dismay and spiritual destruction to this very moment on the near edge of the second coming. So what are we going to do about it? How are we going to respond to this? The first thing I want to urge you to do, if you haven't already done so, is give us a call at 1-800-SAVE-USA and get a copy of this book, *The Power to Overcome*.

This isn't about making money, friends. I don't make a dime on these books. The money doesn't go to me. I write because God puts these messages on my heart for this unique time in history. *How to Triumph in Troubled Times*. God wants you to triumph. Do you want to triumph? Are you sure? Because only the overcomers are going to receive the blessing. Only the overcomers are going to be received and given the inheritance.

That's what Jesus said. Revelation chapter 21: from the beginning of Revelation to the end of Revelation, the message is "To him that overcomes." And then he says this: "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear." So the question is: Do I have an ear to hear? That is the question: Do I have an ear to hear? And so the book is here to help us grapple with something that has captivated our minds and our hearts in God's own house.

And he's standing at the door knocking and said, "Is there anybody in there that will really let me in?" That's what he's saying. $25 will put the book *The Power to Overcome* in your hands. It’s on the website saveus.org. Give us a call: 1-800-SAVE-USA or write to us at Save America Ministries at $6 for postage and handling and we'll get the book in your hands. Also, we have the Overcomer's Project that I want to talk to you about when we get back. Stay tuned.

Voiceover: Have you ever considered what the early church was like? Many people are developing a hard longing for a greater fulfillment in our practices as Christians. A recent study showed 53,000 people a week are leaving the back door of America's churches in frustration. What is going on? Why has there not been even a one percent gain among followers of Christ in the last 25 years?

Could it be that God is seeking to restore first-century Christianity for the 21st century? Jesus said, "I'll build my church." Is Christ by his spirit stirring to prepare the church for the 21st century? The early church prayed together and broke bread from house to house. They were family and it was said by all who observed, "Behold how they love one another." Incredible. But the same can be found right now. Go to saveus.org and click Cell Church. We can revive first-century Christianity for the 21st century. It's about people, not programs. It's about a body, not a building. That's saveus.org. Click Cell Church.

Chuck Crismier: The devil is our adversary. He is not your daddy. The devil is not your daddy. So why do millions of Christians heed his voice? Why do we so easily succumb to his seductive ways? Why did Jesus say to the religious leaders of his day, "You're of your father the devil"? Yet they claim to be Bible believers. Interesting, isn't it?

So in the few minutes that follow, after I present to you again the Overcomer's Project, I want to take you on a little journey—a journey that I have taken many, many times over the years—and help you to understand in an illustration why and how easy it is that we have been overcome. How Satan really works. And he does. He doesn't even have to work hard. He's so slick and we're so stupid, so easily deceived that he doesn't even have to work hard.

And he believes and he knows that we think that whatever happens behind closed doors is secret and doesn't matter. Whatever we think doesn't really matter. If I think about having an adulterous relationship with someone or a coworker or something like that, it doesn't matter. My thoughts don't matter; it's only if I fulfill those thoughts. Not true. Jesus said, "If you have thought in your heart that you have had a sexual relationship or want to with a woman, you have already committed adultery in your heart."

That's God's viewpoint. That's what Jesus said. I didn't say that. So this is a more serious, a more important thing than most of us believe. We've been so led into a kind of laissez-faire kind of churchianity. We don't hardly even know the meaning of the Kingdom of God and seeking first the Kingdom of God anymore. We just don't know what it is like. And people ridicule and say, "Oh, that's just legalism." No, friends.

It's a desire to please God and a desire to walk in the ways of his kingdom. That's why Jesus came so that he could overcome the devil like we did not. And so he could be the Savior of the world that we could put our trust and confidence in him because he did overcome. And then he calls us to do the same thing. He said, "As the Father sent me, even so now I send you. Be overcomers. Get the message out and be an overcomer."

All right, so the Overcomer's Project. We've talked about this for the past 30 days, and we have 10 days remaining until August 15th. Here's the deal: for your gift of $250 to Save America Ministries, we are going to put 10 copies of this book, *The Power to Overcome*, in your hands. Now that $250 is a true donation. You're not purchasing books; it's a true donation. But because we want to get the message out more broadly, we are going to send to you 10 copies of the book *The Power to Overcome*.

Now a true donation means it's tax-deductible, whereas if you just purchase a book, it's not tax-deductible. You're purchasing a book. But the other way is this is the nature of the fullness of what this ministry is about. So, what do you do? You go to the website under donation, right there on the homepage, and you click there and it'll tell you exactly. If you want to sign up for the Overcomer's Project, you can sign up right there.

Or you can give us a call at 1-800-SAVE-USA, that's 1-800-SAVE-USA, or you can write to us at Save America Ministries, P.O. Box 70879, Richmond, Virginia 23255. And you'll write a check for $250 or you can write it for $500 if you'd like; we'll send you 20 books. We want to get the message out; that's the whole purpose—to get it out as quickly as possible because whether you realize it or not, friends, the whole world is poised on revolution.

The whole world. Yes, indeed the United States of America. We are on the verge of a recurrence of something similar perhaps on steroids to the French Revolution, which wasn't pretty. Time is short. So you give us a call, 1-800-SAVE-USA. You can write to us. If you are writing a check, make sure you put on the check or in a note "Overcomer's Project." "Overcomer's Project." And we want to get the book in your hand as soon as possible.

A number of people have already responded to this, but time is now short. We've put a deadline on this: August 15th. Let me hear from you. Become a doer of the word. People wonder what can I do? This is something you can do, friends. You can provide a message of love and urgency and compassion to people that you care about that the Holy Spirit puts on your mind and heart to give the book and encourage them to read it slowly, but to read it and respond.

Just received a call today from a brother who has been reading the book and he said, "Wow. Wow, how poignant. Right to my heart," he said. That's what we need, isn't it? Yeah. Okay, now let us move forward for the balance of the program here to look at the conquests of Satan and I want to share a couple of things that I think will help us to get an understanding of how Satan works. How he works in your life and mine.

First of all, we need to know what the Bible says about him. He's more subtle, he's like a roaring lion. He's the prince of the power of the air, he's the tempter, the wicked one, the God of this world, a liar, the father of lies, the prince of this world, a great dragon, the dragon and the deceiver of the whole world. He's the prince of the devils, the angel of darkness, the prince of darkness.

Now, those aren't exactly nice ideas, are they? Years ago in Southern California, before I started practicing law, I was involved in mountaineering—hiking, climbing, peak climbing, rock climbing and so on. In Southern California, there is a mountain called Mount Baldy. It's about 10,000 feet high and it's right there accessible, fairly accessible to all in Southern California. And in the wintertime when it snows, it's glorious. It's just amazing.

It's a snow-covered peak in the wintertime. Spectacularly alluring in winter. So the access to such a draw is readily available to the masses of people. And because of its ready availability without upfront significant cost, it draws many unsuspecting to its dangers. Its dangers are dramatically underestimated in the popular view of people because it doesn't look that dangerous. But by the time the hiker-climber realizes the risks, he or she is already facing the scariest choices perhaps he or she has ever faced.

And right in the precipitous centerpiece of the final access to the summit of Mount Baldy is an area about a quarter of a mile long called the Devil's Backbone. The Devil's Backbone. It's a narrow ridge of several hundred yards descending steeply or ascending steeply over a—actually descending steeply over a thousand feet on both sides of the ridge. So if you add gale winds, freezing temperatures in the winter and life unpreparedness, you're going to have encountered a devilish experience requiring all the courage you can muster.

Now here's the deal: I have traversed—in fact, I choose only to climb that mountain in the winter because that's when it's so beautiful. Otherwise, it's bald, Mount Baldy at 10,000 feet. So since 2020, rescue operations have undertaken more than a hundred searches for missing hikers with six confirmed deaths on that mountain. One article called "Baldy, a mountain of trouble." No wonder it's ranked by knowledgeable climbers among the deadliest peaks in the United States.

It's not one of the deadliest because it looks like one of the deadliest; it's one of the deadliest precisely because it doesn't look like one of the deadliest. And that's why it's called the Devil's Backbone. Now, why is it dangerous? Well, it's dangerous because number one, it doesn't appear to be so dangerous. And that's what gets us in trouble. If something appeared to be so dangerous to us on the surface, we might not go there.

But if we think we can get by and skate by, then we'll go there. Interesting thing: when the wind blows over the top of that Devil's Backbone that's only a few feet wide, maybe a yard wide for about a quarter of a mile. And it's not hard, the trail is not hard. But when the wind blows and it takes the snow, it blows it up like a big puffy whipped cream over the top of that ridge. And it's beautiful. It creates what is called a cornice.

So that the snow now curls up over the top of the ridge and the tendency of people is to walk very close to or on that cornice. And when they do, all hell breaks loose. That which was beautiful now becomes deadly because the cornice breaks off. And that's what happens in our lives. We get so close to the edge of danger. It doesn't seem all that dangerous, but we get so close to it then all of a sudden it breaks off and we think whatever happened.

Why did my marriage fall apart like this? Why did we end up in the divorce court? Why did I end up in this criminal case? Why did I end up drunk and drunken driving and kill somebody? Why did these things happen? They happened, friends, because we faced the Devil's Backbone and didn't realize the devil was in charge of a deception and we yielded. That's why. Has that ever happened to you?

Be careful. If it hasn't happened yet, it might happen in the future just because we talked about it here. And what's happening behind closed doors? Are you getting close to the edge of spiritual destruction behind closed doors? Are you involved in pornography? Friends, if you're involved in pornography, you're already walking on top of the cornice. You're ready to collapse and you don't even realize it.

And it's deadly. And when 70 percent of professing Christian men are involved in pornography, which affects your mind, will, and emotions and causes you to become involved in adultery from Jesus's viewpoint; when 30 percent of Christian pastors admit to being involved in pornography; when 34 percent of Christian women admit to being involved in some sort of female-type pornography—friends, do you not realize the danger that we're in? You're walking on the Devil's Backbone and it's not reliable except to deceive you and lead you to perdition, to destruction both practically and spiritually.

We can't afford this kind of behavior anymore. We can't afford this kind of action anymore. We can't afford to take these things lightly. And that's why you need to get a copy of the book *The Power to Overcome: How to Triumph in Troubled Times*. How to triumph in troubled times. These are troubled times, aren't they? Everybody knows that, but why is it we're not willing to admit it and to act accordingly?

$25 will put it in your hands, it's on the website saveus.org. Call us 1-800-SAVE-USA, write to us at $6 for postage and handling and become part of the Overcomer's Project when you do that. The $250 will not be adding any postage or shipping to that; we absorb that, we're getting it out to you so that you can get it out to the people. God bless and be a blessing. Remember: don't walk on the Devil's Backbone, it's dangerous.

Voiceover: You've been listening to Viewpoint with Chuck Crismier. Viewpoint is supported by the faithful gifts of our listeners. Let me urge you to become a partner with Chuck as a voice to the church declaring vision for the nation. Join us again next time on Viewpoint as we confront the issues of America's heart and home.