Our Guest Coach Bill McCartney

Sid Roth Add comments

Sid: Well my guest is red hot the Messiah he’s the founder of Promise Keepers; Coach Bill McCartney. I’m speaking to him at this home in Denver, Colorado. Those that are football fans know what he has done in the football world. Those that are Jesus fans knows fans know what he’s done in the Kingdom of Heaven. He literally was used by God as a catalyst to draw 1.4 Million men together to worship God. This event Coach you were telling me yesterday was the first one that included Messianic Jews, explain.

Coach: Well we were in the Mall in Washington DC.

Sid: Excuse me there must have been Messianic Jews as individuals but not in large numbers, but go ahead.

Coach: In other words, we didn’t acknowledge them; we didn’t honor them; we didn’t give them their rightful place at the front where they belong. So what happened in the Mall in Washington DC in 1997 when we had 1.4 Million men, was that we blew the shofar, and as you know that’s a call to God. As you know that’s a call to God and as we called out to God it was an extraordinary time. And I need to take you to what God did with me most recently to help you to see how all of this kind of came together for me. I went into the waiting room. The waiting room Isaiah 31 says “Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” I felt led by the Lord to step back out of Promise Keepers. I felt like what had happened in Promise Keepers God had really blessed it and would continue to bless it. But that the primary reason that He called me to be a part of birthing the ministry was still unfulfilled. So I had a sense that I just needed to retreat. So what I did was on March 12, 2003 I stepped back and I went into the waiting room. And for me the waiting room was every day and getting up and spending at least a couple of hours with the Lord unhurried time where I could just ask God all the necessary questions. And I felt like God said to me “If you’ll step back and connect the spiritual dots in your life you’ll discover there’s a divine order to them.” And so I started to go back over everything that had happened prior to Promise Keepers; through Promise Keepers; what was God doing as I’ve heard you say, “You’ll find that everything is a stepping stone to what God wants to do next.” It was with that in mind that I did this, and I got to tell you that I was in that waiting room 9 months. Now ladies know what happens in 9 months you give birth. Sure enough I didn’t realize it at that time but on December the 12^th I flew to San Diego at the urging of some brothers at the prompting of some of the Messianic Community. I flew to San Diego because over the phone I had been saying things to a friend of mine and he was jumping out of his socks trying to get me to say these things out loud. So I basically connected the dots and I said “Based on all the ways that God has worked in my life and what He did in Promise Keepers and what not here’s what I believe God is saying He wants to do.” And I explained in the room in San Diego there was 16 guys, 2 were Messianic Rabbi’s. To others were Messianic Jews and all the others were men but it was ethnically diverse. When I shared with them and I connected the dots I’m telling you the room just took on a profound aura. And it was obvious that these guys every one of them felt like what I was saying they were validating that you got to pursue this.

Sid: I can’t wait, what were you saying?

Coach: Well, I got to tell you one more football story so that you’ll understand. I was praying in July one year. I was in the book of Isaiah and I came across I know you know this but whenever the word of God is spoken, read, or heard and the Spirit of God takes the word of God and strikes fire that’s where there’s change. So with that in mind I would read the Bible through every year; some in the Old Testament, some in the New Testament on the program that I was on. And this particular day in July in the book of Isaiah I read Isaiah 11:11 “And the Lord will return a second time to recover the remnant of His people.” When I read that it just jumped off the Bible at me; I’m telling you that it just lit up my heart and so I stayed there; I mediated on it. Well, what happened was the Lord… we had the year before had an extraordinary season and I in my own football way I was asking God, “God are You saying You’re going to do it again a second time what You did last year with our football team? Now that’s not what the verse was saying.

Sid: Right.

Coach: But that’s what I was asking him. And the Lord affirmed that He was going to do again what He had did the year before. Well at the time that I’m reading this I said, it was in July but actually I was wrong it was in September. Our team was 1 – l and 1. We had won 1 game; we had lost 1 game and we had tied 1 game. We were ranked 20^th in the nation. And the Lord showed me that your final season record will be Isaiah 11:11, meaning 11 – 1 and 1. The record was 1– 1 and 1, our final record would be 11– 1– 1. Sid as God as my witness I gathered these guys together that had been a part of the golden season and I said to them “You’re not going to believe this, but God showed me that here’s our final season record.” So sure enough we win the next 10 games; we gain a share of the national championship. You know when God tell you that He’s going to do something before He does it you don’t get any credit for it.

Sid: Of course.

Coach: And so we’re now in the waiting room connecting those dots; remembering how God supernaturally orchestrated that and brought that to bear. Why did He do that; why did God start Promise Keepers; why did God providentially do all of these extraordinary things? We had one event in Atlanta where 40,000 Pastors came to the event. And for about 45 minutes on one of those days there was a euphoric spirit that came over the place that was unlike anything that most of us had ever experienced. And so why did God do all of the these things? Well, for me in connecting the dots it’s back to Isaiah 11:11 and the Lord will return a second time. In other words what God wants to do through the One New Man; what is in God’s heart for the harvest that He wants to bring in is so extraordinary. But I couldn’t had ever gotten there without going into the waiting room without just meditating and chewing on scripture. When I read your book “The Race to Save the World” where you explain the power of the One New Man; I couldn’t contain myself because it was so clear. You were helping me to see things that I was coming to understand but not fully grasping. Now I began to realize what God has been doing all along through all of these football experiences. What He did in football is that He gave me favor; unmerited favor. What He did was He allowed me to have favor across the Body of Christ. I’ve got to tell you with ethic men of all colors I have favor, I have favor with the Jewish believer, it’s unmerited favor. And what God has done He has prepared me to join guys that He’s raised up like you and being part of ushering in the One New Man. There is a revival coming; there’s a move of the Spirit of God coming and I just know it. And my role in it is to ask God to do it; my role in it is daily regularly petition Him; call upon Him. Jeremiah 33: 3 says “Call upon Me and I will show you great and unsearchable things which you do not know.” I believe that what’s in God’s heart is so extraordinary and so powerful and it’s going to be realized; it’s going to be evidenced as… picture this if you can get this picture in your heart you got it. Picture a Gentile Believer who’s emptied of self and free of the fear of man. And then picture a Jewish Believer who’s selfless and fearless. In other words both of them have fresh fire and they have real fear of God. That is the component that God’s going to use to explode this revival as we go after the Jew first and then the Gentile. Listen to what it says here, it’s talking about Noah in Hebrews 11:7 it says “By faith Noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen moved with Godly fear.” See he prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and he became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. He was able to see what was going to happen before it happened. What I believe that God has done with you; what I believe that He’s speaking into others is this One New Man. What’s in God’s heart for that is of such proportions; it’s going to bring in the peace that surpasses all human understanding. In other words, there’s a peace; you know who has that peace? The guy that’s empty of self and free of fear. Jesus said “Whoever would come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Look there’s two things there.

Sid: Coach we’re going to pick up right here on tomorrows broadcast.