How strong is the United States Navy?

0:00Music Welcome to Peace Through Strength America's Navy. I'm your host Lieutenant Commander Stephen Rogers, United States Navy Retired, and now the Executive Director of the Association of the United States Navy. Now, this program that you're listening to is presented by the Association of the United States Navy, where a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard power and operations, as well as all the personnel who serve and their families around the world. The topics addressed on this program reflect only the perspectives presented by the AUSN. Now, for those of you who would like to learn more about the Association of the United States Navy,

1:02email me, that's advisoryboardatauusn.org. Advisoryboardatauusn.org. You could email me directly through that email, and I do answer all emails. So, by all means, you can put your phone over down there if you want. I'll call you. Yeah, I'll call you. If you have any questions and thoughts, I'd love to hear from you. Or you can use the contact form on our website at AUSN.org or at AmericaOut Loud.News website. Either way, look for me, I'm here, I'm around, and I'd love to hear from you. Now, I've been asked over and over and over again by many people, just how strong is the United States Navy? Is it true that we could defeat any Navy on the face of the earth, including the Chinese Communist Party Navy, the Russian Navy, any Navy on earth? And my answer is, without a doubt, absolutely. We are the most capable war fighting machine on the face of the earth.

2:04And because I've said that time and time again, not only here on this broadcast, but on news broadcast on the TV networks, people are now asking me to articulate a little bit more on that, to prove it, to share with us what you know about our Navy, and that many other people may not know. Well, I'll tell you how strong Navy is. I'm going to share that with you right now, give you an idea of how powerful we are, and why we use that slogan, that strategy that works, peace through strength. America's Navy, your Navy, all right? The good old United States Navy is widely regarded as the world's most powerful Navy with unmatched ability to operate, not locally, folks, not just in shallow waters, not just in what we call brown water, which is shallow water, but in blue water. We are a powerful blue water Navy. Now, I know many of you have heard that term over and over again on the news media.

3:07We have a Navy that is very capable of defeating any foe in the blue water. Well, that's our oceans. That's the largest bodies of water on the face of the earth. Yep. That's what we can do anyplace on the face of the earth. Destroy an enemy looking to destroy the United States of America. And by the way, we have enemies as I'm sure you are well aware of that want to destroy the United States of America. Right now, as I speak to you, there are many people who are aware, especially those of you who are listening from the Middle East. I'm talking about our sailors aboard these wonderful, beautiful, powerful machines that you make work, by the way, that you are heroes. Every single enlisted person and officer on any United States warship right now in the Middle East, in fact, around the world, okay? God bless you. And the mainstream media made you to believe that, well, you know, the people are not really in support of you. Take it from me. I'm not just saying this to make you feel good. I'm beyond that type of thing.

4:10I'm going to say this because it's fat. America loves you. America's proud of you. You stand strong, stand tall. We're with you. And we pray every day that God protects those of you who are protecting us from those maniacs over there in Iran. They're crazy. They're out of their minds. We all know that. But the only way to deal with them is through strong firepower. And you've got it. You are it. And we're with you. They've heard from the Navy already. Well, they're going to be hearing from the Navy. I understand again sooner rather than later. But God bless you. So here's how strong our Navy is folks. All right. I want you to think about something. And I'm just going to go get away from the Middle East. All right. We know what's going on there. And we'll kind of do a broadcast particularly on the Navy and the Middle East at some point in time. But something that not has been widely broadcasted. Only broadcasted at times on the main street media to bring on the critics. And you'll know what I'm talking about as I progress here with our conversation.

5:10All right. So let's talk about the United States Navy's role in the war on drugs. What do you think of that? Boy, that already brings up some questions from the left from liberals from people who are questioning, wow, should we be involved in the war on drugs? Should we be using military might to fight what is amounting to civilian criminal activity? Are you kidding me? This is a war. War on narco terrorist. We're dealing with terrorist organizations. We're dealing with enemies. Either directly or indirectly wanting to destroy us. You don't think the Chinese Communist Party is involved in proliferating, transporting and deploying people with drugs to our country to kill Americans? How about other enemies we have in the Middle East? I mean the Iranians. You think they're not involved in this stuff? And these terrorist organizations sponsored by paid for by our enemies.

6:11So when I hear people say, the United States Navy, you know, why are we using them to fight drug dealers? Drug dealers? These are narco terrorists for goodness sakes. I say send the Navy in. Go and do what you got to do to take them off the face of the earth. And apparently they took my advice and the advice of others. Because finally, if the decades, not weeks, not months, not years, but decades of having the so-called war on drugs and pretty much not losing it, but lost it years ago, we are now winning it. We are now eliminating a threat day in and day out that has taken countless means of Americans' lives with a lot of talk and no action. Now we have a Department of War, we have a President of the United States, we have a Joint Chiefs of Staff, we have the United States military saying enough is enough. And as well as you, America, the American citizens enough is enough.

7:13It's about time we deal with these narco terrorists. Yep, that's part of being America out loud, right? That's part of being on this network, America out loud news. Yep, the United States military, they're doing their job. We're proud of them. And the Association of the United States Navy, as well as other non-profit organizations, we have the ability, the capabilities, and the will to be out loud. Yep, that's what we can do. I know a lot of our uniform military personnel from the officer rank all the way to the enlisted ranks they want. They want to get out loud, but they've got the code of military justice, which I fully support, and they can't say the things and do the things we can do. But we can do it, we can do it on their behalf. But we'll civil, we're articulate, we'll bring facts, and we will stand strong with them. So that's a good marriage, don't you think folks? Those of us who have retired from the military?

8:13Our job is to support the military, not hurt them, and I've said this over and over again. I get disturbed, I mean really disturbed, when a lot of these retired military people go on the air, and this case say, well, you know, there may be an issue with the Navy. And what is that issue? What is that issue? Well, again, we go back to the legal issue. Is it appropriate to use the military might of the United States Navy to blow people out of the water and to watch them die? Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Half of what we're hearing on the news? Well, I'm not going to say half. I'm going to say 90.99% of what we're hearing on the mainstream media are from people that know nothing, see nothing, and only only want to inflame the rhetoric that is already being spread about our military involved in the war on drugs. And like I said, we'll get into that issue and debt some other time, but I got to tell you our Navy are wonderful, beautiful Navy. Would you believe we have more than 200 deployable combat ships?

9:15And about 4,000 operational aircraft and plans are underway now to increase the fleet to over 300 ships. Man, I've got to tell you, it reminds me of the days of Ronald Reagan, President Ronald Reagan, right? He wanted a 600 ship fleet, man, he funded the Navy. He made sure that we would have a strong, strong Navy as a great deterrence against evil around this world, against enemies who want to destroy us. Teddy Roosevelt, look this guy up, all right? I mean, he was a great president. I've run, I've read two or three biographies about him, and I understand he was an assistant secretary or undersecretary of the United States Navy before he became president. So our Navy has a long history of people in government who serve the Navy. There's your experts, not the news media outlets, not the talking heads, the pundits, if you will, that no little or nothing about what we're doing today in the United States Navy, the United States military as a whole.

10:20But anyway, that's a lot of firepower, 200 deployable combat ships, 4,000 operational aircraft, man, there's a lot of aircraft there folks. We got 11 active aircraft carriers, and they're supported by these carriers, they don't hang around alone, they got some company. How about this folks? How about a lot of advanced destroyers, submarines, amphibious ships, and boy, I'll tell you much more. Now, our Navy, we've got about, and I am proud to say I was part of this, and still part of it, all right? We've got about 300,000 active duty sailors, and over 100,000 members of the United States Navy reserves. Now, we're all one Navy, that term, Navy reserve, I think it's fading away, or it's really gone away for quite some time. We're one Navy, we're one nation, we're one America. We are the United States Navy, but anyway, if you were to divide it up, 300,000 active duty and 100,000 members of the Navy reserve. Now, all of these Navy personnel, they're trained for what? They're trained for rapid deployment, sustained what we call sustained forward presence, meaning they go out to sea for periods of time that take them away from home six months, three months, maybe a year at times or if they're in a combat situation, maybe longer.

11:39But they're trained to do that, they're trained in crisis response, we've seen our Navy go around the world, an earthquake here, an earthquake there, some sort of tragedy in this country of that country. Who's first to respond with food, with water, with the help these people need in order to survive the crisis that they're involved in, the United States Navy? That's who's first to respond and many times first to arrive. So when you have our U.S. Navy involved in crisis responses and forward presence and sustained ability to stay put in order to send a message to our enemies, peace or strength, they're not just doing it in our hemisphere folks globally. Our Navy is all over the world. Yeah, Pacific Atlantic, this ocean, that ocean, hothil waters, peaceful waters, we're all over the place and we're flying over glory. And I've said that over and over again, when our enemies get on the shoreline of their country and take their binoculars and kind of look at the horizon, back and forth, back and forth and suddenly they see a massive aircraft carrier flying the American flag.

12:54And then they look to the right and to the left, there's the destroyers, can't see the subs, but they got to know they're out there. They see the destroyers and boy, I'll tell you, they begin to think twice. We better not pull the trigger, look what the United States Navy has off our coast. Pretty, pretty scary for them, pretty good for us. So I've got to tell you, you know, the strength of the United States Navy, and we know it's strong now, right? We know we're tough. We're the king of the sea. I've got to tell you, reflects not only its overall size in the military might and hardware that we have, but we've got, I mean, the most advanced technological superiority. We've got modernization that has been sustained and it is continuously going forward. We've got, I mean, extensive operational experience to all the advancements we've made, and we've got what I believe is the most important factor that reflects our overall size and power is that the men and women serving.

13:58Some of them are right out of high school. We don't see them, right? We don't see them. We don't, I do, you know. We see the protesters. I had a high school on college campuses, you know, death to America, down with America, burning the American flag. But there's another side to the story. It's our men and women in the United States military, Navy Army, Marines, Air Force that are serving their country, wearing a uniform and flying, not burning, flying the American flag. From sea to shining sea, that to me needs to be marketed more if you will spread more and you can do it. Be part of America out loud, be out loud for our military, be out loud for our Navy. We'll send you information for good mistakes. I'll send you a summary of some of the things we're doing. I'll let you know on a broadcast that left what we're doing at the association of the United States Navy for and with our Navy. But I've got to tell you folks, we've got young men and women, exceptional men and women who are part of our defensive and exceptional, offensive capabilities to keep America safe, to keep America strong.

15:08I mean, that's something that we need to let not only the people of our country know, but the entire world know. Now, we've got bases worldwide and we need supply systems set up worldwide to make sure that our Navy is well equipped, that our sailors, the officers, the enlisted all of them on those ships and on the bases worldwide are taking care of as well as their families. We do that here at the AUSN and again, I'll share that with you in a bit. So, where are our Navy ships deployed? Many of you, in fact, most of you probably never saw an aircraft carrier. Never saw a destroyer. Never saw a submarine. Well, I urge you, find out where the nearest Navy bases and you know what, why not pay a visit? Yeah, you could call their bases and you could call the people on there who will take you on tours. I know Norfolk does. At least they use the Norfolk Naval Air Station, Pensacola. There's a submarine base in Connecticut. Yeah. If you need to find out where a base is near you, again, get in touch with us. Well, we'll find out. We'll send you the information.

16:18Listen, we've got amazing things going on. Our overall size includes the world's largest, most powerful, potent, lethal aircraft carrier force. And they're supported by the nuclear subs and those highly capable destroyers, which together, which together will send that message piece through strength. And if our enemies think that we're making, that we're bluffing, they might want to think twice. They might want to do a little bit about researching history as to the United States Navy and its potent power. So we've got naval forces in the Western Pacific, in the Mediterranean, in the Indian Ocean. And I've got to tell you, they're near coast of both friend and foe nations all over the world. They know where around everybody knows the United States Navy is alive and well. Now, the U.S. Navy size, its technology, its nuclear fleet, its global reach, and highly trained personnel. That is what makes us the most powerful Navy on Earth.

17:24More powerful than China. Chinese would want you to believe, well, we're powerful. We could defeat the U.S. Navy. I've read those reports and heard those rumors now. China, you're never going to defeat the United States Navy. Nobody is going to happen. And you know, folks, the Chinese are well aware that what I'm saying with regard to that is true. Because I've also read reports that they've discussed the power we have in the Pacific. And they know now is not the time to tangle with us. But, as I said, now is not the time. Meaning they are building carriers, they are building destroyers, they are building platforms that will be going far from the Chinese coast. Now, where they headed, we all know it's no secret. Taiwan is in there, I say. But, saying that, that leads us to the point where we as America must continuously support the funding of the United States Navy. We must continuously support the men and women serving in the United States Navy. And let me add the Coast Guard too. They are a sea service. And let me add the merchant Marines. They are a sea service.

18:34We're all one big family. You know, folks, when it comes to defending this country on the high seas, great partnerships the United States Navy has with the Coast Guard and merchant Marines and others. But the United States Navy can do what no other branch of service can do, project our power to show them physically on the high seas without firing one shot our power. Now, one might say, well, can't the Air Force do it? Can't the Army do it? Well, you got to send those jets over hostile territory. You got to send our troops into hostile territory for those enemies of the United States to see that our ships do not go into their waters. We're just close to the line that you would say between the international waters and their territorial waters. They could see us. And they know we're there. And they're scared to death. Now, regard the war on drugs. All right, let's get back to that. Get back to that because that's something I want to emphasize regarding the might and power of the United States Navy.

19:39And our missions, our missions. Well, of course, our mission is to fight and win wars. That's what this is all about. Not a big, huge war against narcoteric, but a war nonetheless. So, the U.S. Navy has carried out, I mean, I guess at this point, a hundred or so, airstrikes on vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. And not only airstrikes, some of the firepower has come directly from our ships blowing up some of these boats carrying lethal drugs to other nations that will eventually get legal and lethal drugs. I'm sorry, lethal drugs to our country. All right, I got some dates for you. How about September 2nd, 2025? That was the first airstrike. First one in the Caribbean on a Venezuelan link boat. What were they carrying? Bad lethal drugs that eventually would come to United States. October 29th, 2025. Strikes began in the Eastern Pacific November 4th, 2025. Again, strikes in the Eastern Pacific. April 11th, 2026 strikes in the Caribbean again.

20:43April 13th, 26. Eastern Pacific, April 14th, 26. Eastern Pacific, April 15th, 26. Strikes in the Pacific, April 19th, 2026. Again, strikes in the Eastern Pacific. Need I go on, folks? Do you get the point? You know, I find it amazing that these narco terrorists haven't gotten a message yet. And I guess they believe the loss of life and the loss of their product, which is the narcotics, is the cost of doing business. I've heard that time and time again that they don't care who dies and how much of their narcotics goes to the bottom of the ocean is the cost of doing business. But my point is this, we're out there fighting a war. And one might say, oh, but these are small boats and these are innocent people. Innocent? Do you really believe that? Yeah, but maybe they're going to some peasants and they're giving them a lot of money. Maybe they're forcing them to do that. It's possible, but they're still committing a crime. All right. They're committing a crime. And unfortunately, if that's the case, that's not our fault.

21:49We got to go after the drugs and we got to put the narco terrorist out of business. What do we do? What do we do? What are we done for decades? Oh, please don't cross the border with your drugs. Oh, we've caught some dealers. Oh, they've gone to court, but the judge let them go. I'm sick and tired of that. Now, instead of judges dealing with this on the back end of it, and I believe in justice, criminal justice, I believe in that. If these narco terrorists could be captured and brought to justice, that'd be fine. But you think that they are going to give up? No, they're going to go down fighting. Just take a look at Mexico. Mexico is in dire need of a military force that will destroy the narco terrorists in that country. Hasn't happened yet. Maybe it will. Hasn't happened yet. You know, the president of Mexico, I understand, has made it pretty clear to President Trump and the administration that they don't want US military forces coming into Mexico. Well, that's their country. They have the right to say that, but we could make sure they don't come here. That's right.

22:53Look at the only language that bad guys understand the only language that I'm talking about evil bad guys that will not hesitate to kill you. And they have. They've killed people. You've read they've tortured and killed people to get their narcotics into America. The only language they understand is the law that they live by. And that's the law of the most powerful. And right now, the most powerful is the United States Navy. That is what's important. The US Navy operations in the Caribbean, the Pacific and elsewhere on the world with regard to the war on drugs have one task and they're doing a good job. And that task is to disrupt narco terrorist networks and reduce drug trafficking into the United States. What is wrong with that? Why are there people opposed to that? They bring up the legal issues and this issue and that issue committee meetings and investigations on and on and on. Our men and women in the United States Navy, Coast Guard, all our forces, my goodness, they're putting their lives on a line so that we could live in peace so that we could live in freedom.

24:01And I think about our children and our grandchildren. We don't do something now. They're going to be left with that mess. And by the way, it left with maybe a million more Americans killed as a result of the narcotics being proliferated in our country. I've seen enough of that as a detective lieutenant and a police department. You all know I served on a PD. I've worked narcotics to his forces. I've seen young men and women dead. Parents screaming because their kids died as a result of narcotics that was brought over here by the narco terrorist that was sent into the bottom of the ocean. I want to keep that up, folks. We ought to keep doing that job. Well, that's about it, folks. Believe it or not, I ran out of time. I wanted to talk to you about the AUSN, but I will. I will, perhaps maybe on our next broadcast, but all I got to say is, you know what? God bless our Navy. Our Army, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Space Force, all of them. God bless them. And I also say to our Navy, to our troops in the Middle East who are listening to this broadcast, I'm sure, and others around the world.

25:04You know what? You don't hear it enough, but you're going to hear from me quite often. And from the American people and from America out loud. We can't be out loud enough in saying these three words, job well done. Psalm 10723, I love the Bible and I love the Scriptures. Someone out on the sea and ships. They were guardians on the mighty waters. Again, job well done. God bless you. God bless our Navy. And all of our armed forces and God bless America. Your heart is the most crucial muscle in your body. Are you doing enough to keep it strong? Introducing the Wellness Company's Breakthrough Healthy Heart Formula, designed by Dr. Peter McCullough, now upgraded with Torin. This daily supplement supports cardiovascular health and works to protect cells against oxidative stress, packed with D-ribose, to boost heart function, touring to help maintain a heart and muscular health, co-enzyme Q10 and selenium citrate to help reduce risk of cardiac disease,

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30:17A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods. But it is a principle, and patriotism is loyal to that principle. I'm happy to report that American patriotism flows freely once again. America out loud.News is that place to awaken your heart, soul, and mind to the out loud truth. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for joining me during our second half of our 1 hour broadcast here at AmericaOut loud.News. Now, during this second half of our broadcast, I bring to you some good news, and that good news comes from the Word of God. Yes, indeed. We here at America out loud.News, we even talk about God. Not many broadcast networks do that, but we do that here.

31:21We're not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We're not ashamed of saying, hey, look at it. We can't do things without divine intervention at times. And I could tell you, based on my life, my life as a police officer, as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy. And of course, now retired. The life that God has given me has been one of great blessings. And I've learned in that life, through big and thin. Sometimes, you know, we go through some trials and tribulations, and we ask the question, why God? Why me? Why does this happen to me? I'm a good person. I pray, and I do this, and I do that. I don't hurt anybody, and on and on and on. And look, we're human. All right, we're human. And of course, we ask questions when we run into very difficult times. But the fact that a matter is, we've got to answer one question. One question of many questions, of course, with regard to our very own lives.

32:21And I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to think about it for a minute before you answer it to yourself. What is your reality? What's real to you? Now, is it your understanding that the reality is shaped just by material wealth, professional advancement, social status, and other worldly pursuits? Because that's what most people will answer. The reality is, well, I got a great job. Got a great marriage, have a great family. I'm advancing in my profession. Now, I've climbed from this social status level to where I am now. And all these other pursuits that I've embarked upon, as long as I've lived, at least in my adult life, I've been able to succeed. Then there are others who will say, well, you know what, I've tried and I've tried. And I have no material wealth, and as far as my profession's concerned, haven't done very well there. Social status, well, I would be at the lower ring of it. People would say, and as far as worldly pursuits, what is there to pursue?

33:26Those are individuals who have given up, and I've got to tell you, you want to stick around for a minute and listen to what else I have to say about reality. Now, Webster, we all know Daniel Webster, learned about him in elementary school, right? The guy that wrote the dictionary. Well, he defines reality as a real event. Now listen to me, a real event, a real entity, and our state of affairs. That's what he says, a reality is all about. And I could tell you, probably to shorten that up, reality is simply what we can see, what we can feel, what we can hear, and what we can touch. Nothing more, and nothing less. That's what reality is all about. Now, what we need to do is to understand that, and it's very interesting, you know, when I look at what reality is, because there is something that all of us say we know about. Now, there is a person who we talk about from time to time, and kind of share with people that we do know him, all right? Now, you might be saying, what in the world am I talking about?

34:35Well, here's what I'm talking about, folks. I'm talking about this. I find it striking. I mean, really striking, that many people readily accept as real, whatever they see, whatever they hear, whatever they feel, whatever they touch. Right? I mean, it's there, right? Look, look, I touch a table. It's real. I touch this microphone. It's real. But yet, but yet they reject the reality of the one who impacts their lives every single day. Now, who the world am I talking about? I'm talking about God. Think about that one. On many occasions, I've heard individuals express uncertainty about whether God, who, by the way, has a name Jesus Christ, is real. I kind of wonder why people will kind of reject the notion of God. Well, they say they believe in God. Well, Saint believes in God. He had a conversation with God. Remember that? Have you read your Bible? I'm sure many of you have read your Bible. Satan had conversations with Jesus Christ, even challenged him.

35:39He challenged him to say, hey, you know, forsake your father. You know, all right, he's there. We know about it, bow down to me and I'll give you the world. So we know Satan, Lucifer, that guy hasn't even mentioned that. He has tried to create this idea that he would be the king of kings and Lord of lords. But Jesus rejected that because the reality of Jesus was not what he heard, not what he touched. All right, the reality of Jesus is not what he saw. The reality of Jesus is what folks, the reality of Jesus was his father in heaven. And a lot of these people often explain that they find it difficult to believe in someone they have never seen in person. Think about that. I've had people actually tell me, well, you know, if I saw God in person, you know, that's a whole other story. I mean, how can you not believe that someone exists if you are in their presence, that they're right in front of you, looking at you, eyeball, eyeball.

36:42It reminds me of Thomas. Remember that guy? He didn't believe Jesus Christ was in that room, that upper room until he saw the marks on his hand, right? Think about that folks. Thomas, the doubting Thomas, that's where that comes from. All of the disciples said, this is Jesus. This is Jesus. He's standing right here. I don't believe it's him. I don't believe it's him. The only way I'll believe it's him, I got to see the marks in his hand. And so today people feel that way too. They say those things like, well, you know what, I don't believe in God until I see him. Or I believe there's a God, but, you know what, he's somewhere in outer space and he's not really paying attention to me. He's got so many problems and difficulties to deal with. What would he want to do with me? Now, how about this folks? Here's my response to these people. Now listen very, very carefully. All right. I answer their question with a question, which we're not supposed to, I understand, but I do it anyway. Here's what I asked him. Do you believe that George Washington was the first president of the United States of America and most respond in the affirmative?

37:54Yeah, believe it out. There are some who have no idea who Washington is. This is the times we live in, but what can I, what can I say folks? Anyway, I then ask when they, when they tell me yesterday, they believe in George Washington. They believe he existed. They believe every single thing that they've read about him. So then I asked him this question. When did you personally meet him? When did you personally speak with him? At which point folks, I've got to tell you, you get the deer in the headlights. Look, and the conversation typically falls silent because they got to know exactly what I was driving at. My point was clear. The reality of God is affirmed by scripture, by reason, and personal experience. Each person who had a personal experience with Jesus Christ testified to his existence and his involvement in their lives, and they put it down on paper, probably back then on stone or whatever they had, but you get the point. They put it down on paper.

38:57In much the same way, the historical reality of President George Washington and of many other figures we know through recorded history is supported by what? Written accounts are history books, right? Isn't the Bible a written account? The history of Jesus Christ, of God in a lives of man, reasonable, inference and testimony of those who lived during that time. So you got the testimonies of people who lived in the 1700s, who talked to, hung around with, and realized that, you know what, they got to write some history down about the President of the United States, the first one, George Washington. And what he and others, like Jefferson and Adams, I mean that whole crew down there who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They felt that they had to write that down so that people in the future, meaning you and me, all right? In this 21st century, would know that there was a person who ran this country, there were people who put this country together, and that there are a lot of guidelines that they felt that we should know about.

40:07How about that folks? Now, I go back to the question. Why don't people believe in God? Or do people believe that, you know what, he's just kind of a myth or that, yeah, there's a God, but he didn't do much. I mean, or, you know, he's just there, he's just hanging out in heaven, all right? But with all the history written about Jesus Christ, about God Almighty. And I got to tell you folks, I don't need any other book than the Bible to find out that reality, reality in our lives is not only what we see on earth, but the real reality is God. Because he created everything else that is reality. So it's reasonable to conclude, right? That Washington and others who employed writers to preserve speeches and good counsel and correspondence so that future generations might learn from them. It's reasonable, right? To believe that. So why is it, why are many people quick to question the testimonies and the writings of the Apostles and the disciples and Jesus himself?

41:15Hmm, perplexing to me. Really, I mean it. I mean, why is it that we accept that we can, what we can see, that we can hear, that we can touch, et cetera. But when it comes down to not doing those things with regard to a personal encounter, I suppose, with people, we don't tend to believe it other than what was written by man. Hmm, with the exception of what was written by man via the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. So how about Genesis 1-1, right? The reality of God begins right there because right there in Genesis 1-1, we see the affirming of God's existence in the beginning. God created the heavens and the earth. Do we need more, do we need more than that and to understand that this is what it's all about in the beginning that God created, the heavens and the earth. That was the beginning of it all. Not in the year 20,640 years ago, not in the year 1, but in the beginning. You can't go past the beginning. There's nowhere, I mean, where do you go, which is in the beginning, all right? Here's the beginning and that is the start of everything. So in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

42:36Now this truth is affirmed throughout the entire Bible. The psalmist, many of them declared that creation proclaims God's glory. The heavens declared the glory of God. The skies proclaimed the work of his hands. And Paul teaches that God's invisible attributes are evident in what he has made, leaving unbelief without excuse. Now let me get to that part a minute. People may say, well, you know what, have never had an encounter with God. Maybe you have and you just don't know. I believe everyone at some point in time has an encounter with God. And many times we just don't know it. We don't see it. We don't have our eyes opened. We have our eyes open to the things, the material things that man offers us. Too much of that going on in the world today folks. You know, as we grow older, you know, and I've seen it happen in my own life, I kind of, you know, we slow down a bit, right? Slow down somewhat physically and we slow down to a point where it's kind of positive where you will take a deep breath and take a step back and say, you know what, let me enjoy what I see around me. Let me, let me enjoy nature.

43:44I look at trees, I look at the grass, I look at the clouds. I mean, I start looking at everything that I didn't pay attention to when I was younger and on the go, okay? And I look at insects. I mean, those of you who are up in your years, you know, look, I'm 74 years old, all right? Still got a lot of pep, a lot of bigger. Thank God Almighty, I'm healthy and I'm moving forward with the different station in life he's given me with the military and with our country. And I'm sure many of you listening to this broadcast may not be 74 years old, you may be 25, 30, whatever age you are, I would say this to you. There's a scripture that says, those of us with gray hair, and boy do I have gray hair, at least I have hair. The scriptures say to take a step back if you're younger and to listen to the wisdom of those with gray crowns, meaning listen to some wisdom with those who have been around for quite some time, especially with those who have created a friendship, a relationship, what I call a real good, you know, brotherly love type thing with Jesus Christ.

44:53Listen to them and I ask you just to listen to me for a few more minutes. Don't let the reality of this life take you away from the reality of God. People will tell you to pursue good jobs. That's a good thing. You should do that, pursue this, pursue that, but don't become enslaved to that reality. I've seen so many people, so many friends of mine who have began their pursuits for better jobs, better education, and then that turns into pursuit for money, money, money, and more material wealth and material things. And yeah, they get the big cars, they get to fly here, go here, go there, et cetera, et cetera, which is good. God wants us to be, he wants to bless us with wealth. He wants to bless us with those material things. So long as that wealth and those material things don't take us away from the reality of him. And I find it amazing. I really do folks that I could talk to people about anything, any subject, any topic, politics, national security, on and on and on.

46:00But most of the time, when I bring up Christ, and I don't preach to people, I don't evangelize, I don't push this, you know, belief in Christ and anybody to throw. I know when to stop. And sometimes I've had to stop on my tracks and kind of pivot to another subject. But I've noticed a lot of times when people, and may I add some Christians, I know, good ones, all right. This doesn't make them bad. But kind of, kind of causes me, causes me to pose a little when they tell me how successful they've been and how much money they have made. I tell them, well, let's thank God that he led you down that path and you've been able to succeed and you've been able to, you know, get a lot more money into your household, et cetera, et cetera. And I'm waiting. I'm waiting for them to share with me the reality of Christ in their life. Not a word. Not a word. And I tell you what, I do walk away somewhat discouraged thinking, gee, you know what?

47:01What happened here to this person? They used to engage in conversations about every subject, including God and the Bible, and now that's taken a back seat. Are they bad people? Well, of course not. Look, we all have our shortcomings. But I'm concerned that when I run into this situation more and more and more, and so that's what I'm sharing this with you is it takes stock. All right, take stock that don't let the reality of this life take you from the reality that there is a God. Look at I, I've, you know, looks and I've transformed from a person that was just like that, wouldn't say too much about Christ and God. Then I took him up on his offer. Come on to me, all ye who are burdened and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy. My burden is light telling me as well as telling you your reality on earth may not be as good as you want it to be where it may be perfect. But without me meeting Jesus Christ, your reality is going to be short lived. Woo, man, I'll tell you. And I've seen that happen to people on and on again. I'm again in my lifetime with that reality of this world of what they've attained in this world is short lived.

48:12I didn't want to go down that road. That's why I share with people. There's another reality that I think about constantly. And that's reality that there is a Bible that there is a word. People say, well, you know Steve Rogers, you talk often about how God and you have this conversation. How does he speak to you? Do you hear his voice? No, I don't. I don't. But maybe I do. What do you think about that? Maybe my heart does. My heart does. My soul does. My spirit does. In fact, no, maybe it's okay. I'm going to correct myself. No, maybe I hear his voice in my heart, soul and spirit. And how do I hear it? Through his word, through that Bible, through what we see and what we hear, what we touch, what we feel through the word of God. Not what my hands, but what my ears, not what my eyes, but through the soul and the spirit that God has given me. And you could have the same thing. You could have the same thing. For many people, God has experienced as personally real.

49:18Not just as an abstract idea, what many, many do. That's an abstract idea. The thoughts of God. There is no reality there. It's just an idea. Well, it's not. And you know what? Many people know it's not an abstract idea. Many people study God's Word and they can deepen awareness of God's presence in their lives, leading to an encounter with God. Oh, yeah. You will, if you haven't already, you'll have an encounter with God. The question is, will you know it's him? Now, that doesn't mean, you know, he's going to come out of heaven and meet you face to face and say, hey, come on over here. I need to talk to you. No, no, don't work that way. But you will have an encounter. Something interesting will be happening in your life, or there'd be a detour in your life. There is the reality of Jesus Christ, the reality of God, the reality of the Holy Spirit in dwelling in your life. Now, you might say, holy spirit, him never come into my life. I'm in such bad shape. I've come more since than anybody you can think of.

50:19So the Holy Spirit's not going to come into my life. Well, I got news for you, my friend. He's there already. He's been there since the day you were created, not born, created inside your mother's womb. He's been there. It's up to you to, well, accept him and I tell people to activate him. How do you do that? Well, you have a conversation with God. You tell Jesus Christ, get along with him for goodness' sake. I'll tell you that time and time again. Get along with him. Start talking to him like I'm talking to you. And ask him to show you the way. 25 songs. Show me that way. Teach me that path, O Lord. What do you think of that, folks? The scripture portrays what can be both, you know, both through action and through deed, a strong relationship with Christ. When you recognize God's reality, then the call for you to get deeper and deeper and deeper into having enough faith and trust in Him that He will, He will draw you closer to Him.

51:20Faith is a committed trust in God, period. Not mere intellectual agreement, not mere obedience to a particular doctrine, but be a willing and obedient friend of Jesus Christ. That's all He wants is your friendship. So faith like that, it engages the whole person. Yep, your mind, your heart, your soul, your spirit, and your conduct. And scripture, the holy scriptures portray it as evident in both action and a lived relationship with God. A lived relationship, meaning an ongoing relationship. God's reality is affirmed through many, many perspectives, my friend, scriptural, philosophical, all kinds of, I mean perspectives through creation's beauty. I mean, look at the creation's beauty. I mean, the scientific insight, even science is affirming the reality of God and personal spiritual experience, which is a big deal.

52:20Well, we have in the Bible, in the written word of God, a personal experiences that people wrote down. And I've got to tell you, I've written nine books. And I'm not here on this broadcast to sell you and market the books. I'm not even going to tell you what their names are. At some point, maybe I will. I've written nine books, primarily about the experiences that I've had with Jesus Christ. And at times, not even knowing it. But I got to tell you, it taught me that there is a God that he's interested in my life, and that he is indeed answering the prayers, show me thy way. Teach me, thy path, O Lord. And you, my friend, you can have that same pathway, that same experience. All you got to do is open your heart as he has opened his heart to you. Open your arms, embrace him as he opened his arms to you and said, come, come on to me, my friend. You who are listening now, he's saying, come on to me. Whatever burdens you have, your reality on earth is temporary, but your reality with me, meaning God Almighty, Jesus Christ, is eternal.

53:25That's where our reality should be. So take a moment and look at the reality of God through what he created. All right. You don't have to go open in your Bible right now. Look at the sky, look at the birds, look at the seas, if you're in an ocean, trees, the stars. But most importantly, I would say, look at a mirror. I mean it. Look at you. Ask yourself the question, where have I been? Where am I going? And how am I going to get there? Let that be something that you do. I mean, that mean you really do. You take some time in that you do within the next 24 to 48 hours. And then take a moment and turn in your Bible to the book of John chapter three. I'm not going to read that scripture to you because I want you to make it a point that you go to John chapter three. And there you will get a fine without a doubt. There you will find the reality of God Almighty. That's it. John chapter three. That is where you're going to find the reality of God.

54:26And remember what I've said over and over again in prior broadcast. And I will continue to say this when people ask me, well, what is the Bible? What's in the Bible? What's written in the Holy Order Bible? I can tell you this. I don't have time to go through the whole definition, but I will share with you that the Bible reveals the mind of God and His mind is on you, my friend. The state of man also on you and on me. The way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. It's doctrines are holy. It's precepts are binding. It's histories are true. And it's decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise. Believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. That is what the Bible is. That is what God is all about. He loves you. He protects you day in and day out with you, except it or not. But that is the reality.

55:27Reality is faith. Reality is not based on the things we see. What's the Bible says? Faith. Faith come up by hearing, hearing by the word of God. Faith is a substance of things not seen, not seen, folks. Meaning that you have faith in a God you may not be able to see right now, maybe sometime in your life. He will reveal himself to you somehow. Look at when it comes to God, I don't count anything out. But I'll tell you what, he, Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lord and the King of kings loves you. He wants you to know that he needs and wants you to be his reality. Right. Let him be your reality and you're going to see blessing upon blessing come into your life. They'll be trying to brainstorm. They'll be at wins and they'll be difficult challenges that you will be facing. But the difference between now and then, meaning now if you don't have God as a reality and when you do have him as a reality in your life, he'll walk with you.

56:31He'll walk with you. And as he's walking with you, you want some real peace, he'll give you the reality of his peace. If you're all, he's also known as the Prince of Peace. Thank you for listening. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.