The Eric Metaxas Show - Mario Murillo

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Mario Murillo joins the program to share some miracle stories that inspired his new film. 

Noble gold investments is the official gold sponsor of the Eric Mataxis show, a company that specializes in gold IRAs and physical delivery of precious metals. Learn how you can protect your wealth with noble gold investments. That's noble gold investments.com. Welcome to the Eric Mataxis show. We'll get you from point A to point B. But if you're looking for point C, well, buddy, you're on your own. but if you wait right here in just about the two minutes the bus to point C will be coming right by and now here's your ralph cramden of the airways eric ma texas hey there folks welcome to monday and yes yes yes it's miracle monday on the eric maticus show we have coming up in this hour my friend mario murillo i don't if you don't know who he is thank me sometime or pray for me because I'm sick.

But Mario is a gift. He is a gift. And I get to talk to him today in hour one. But since it's Miracle Monday, we thought, hey, let's talk more miracles in hour two. In hour two, we're talking to a new friend Ken Chin. He has an amazing miracle story. If you know me, you know that I don't blow smoke. I don't say, oh, it's miraculous.

and then you listen and you go, I don't know. You'll know. Like, it's either a miracle or don't call it a miracle. And that's when I wrote my book, Miracles, that was the standard. I had a friend. Actually, Keith Junt is on here and, sorry, and Chris Himes is on here. And Keith, you and I have a mutual friend. I won't say his name, Steve, who gave me, I asked all my friends, give me miracle stories if you know, if you've experienced a real miracle because I'm writing a book about miracles. And Steve is one of a few who gave me a story and I said, you know, it sounds miraculous but not enough for the book. Because I could see people going, well, you were lucky. So the stories in my book Miracles and the stories that we talk about on Miracle Monday, these are stories that they, I think that the whole idea is they seem clearly to be miracles, if you're paying attention, if you're paying attention. So we've got Mario Mirolo coming up in hour one, in hour two, Ken Chin. And his story is amazing, folks, hour two today, amazing.

Okay, few announcements. I was in Palm Beach over the weekend. I want to tell that story. It involves bad oysters. Are you excited? Yeah, it involves bad oysters. Wait till you hear my story. I will not give you details.

But I interviewed Josh Hawley, so I'll tell that story in a few moments. Before that, a couple of updates. We have on the program this week, Mike Lindell, my hero, my friend, Mike Lindell. Mike Lindell, if you get to know him, you realize he's exactly the same person that when he's on the air. He's just real. He's 100% real. and we're going to be talking to him about all kinds of stuff this week. I don't know if that's tomorrow or probably tomorrow, probably tomorrow.

And a number of other exciting guests coming up this week. But in terms of announcements, I should announce a few things. Number one, the Bonhofer Circle Zoom call is tomorrow night. Now, the Bonhofer Circle is $25 a month to be part of the Bonhofer Circle. and it comes with all kinds of stuff. If you sign up today or tomorrow, you will get a free seven women book, a hardcover seven women book mailed to you.

If you sign up for the Bonhofer Circle, you can do that, I think, at Socrates in the city or at the Erkman, Texas website. I'm not sure which. But the point is, if you sign up for the Bonhofer Circle, you get a free seven women book. and you get to participate tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Eastern in the Bonhofer Circle Zoom call. And what that is, that's just one of the perks of being a member of the Bonhofer circle is every quarter I do a Zoom call with whoever wants to participate.

And you can ask any question or whatever. I'll talk up front a little bit about Bonhofer and then we open it up. It's fun. So that's the Bonhofer Circle. That's tomorrow night. If you want to sign up definitely today or early tomorrow, would be the latest to be part of the Zoom call and to get the book. The other update is we're doing a fundraiser with food for the poor.

And we are in the last week of a $40,000 goal, and we are at 25%. If you do the math, you realize we are bizarrely behind. So those of you who've stepped up, thank you, thank you, thank you. and the rest of you, could you help us, please? We need your help. Food for the poor needs your help. Hungry kids need your help to really put it, you know, bluntly. Hungry kids need our help. I want to read something to you if you haven't yet given it's, well, first of all, food for the poor, we trust them, right? So we've been doing this for three weeks. The other Salem radio hosts seem to have been much more effective than I.

And so we've raised quite a bit of money through the Salem Network. But on this program, we're behind. So the gist of what it is. And by the way, if you want to look at my website is metaxis talk.com. Mataxis talk. At the top of the page, you see a feed their future banner, which gives you more information. So that's metaxis talk.com. But the gist of it is that throughout Latin America and especially in El Salvador, because of the nature of things, they've got skyrocketing food prices combined with just a terrible economy, limited job opportunities, families are suffering.

kids under age five are facing hunger and anemia rate of 25 percent. Kind of unbelievable, right? So the only real opportunity to have for a healthy life and for actual nutritious food is through the school lunch programs. So that's where food for the poor comes in. That's where you and I come in. So whatever you give will make a big difference. Actually, a few weeks ago, I think I shared with you this phone call from a young girl named Sarah, who reminds us that every donation is very, very important. Let me play that for you.

I just wanted to say, I really admire your work with food for the poor each year. And I'm 16 years old. I live at home, so I don't really make a whole lot of money. But I have an envelope that I keep on my nightstand, and each time I do get some money, I put a little bit away throughout the year, maybe like a dollar or two. And it's for food for the poor. And so this year I saved up $80 to give. And I'm not saying any of this to brag. I just wanted to encourage your, your listeners to probably make more money than I do. And so if you can just spare a little bit, that would be good. Bye.

Is that amazing? That's a 16-year-old girl. Listen, this is real. When you send money to food for the poor, you know, they don't waste it. So that's why I can boldly ask you to give. Again, the website is metaxis talk.com. $100 feeds a kid for a whole year. That's every hundred dollars that you give feeds a kid for a whole year. So depending on how much you give, you can do the math on the effect that it's having. Food for the ball also supports farmers and food producers in the area. They strengthen local food production so families can stay in El Salvador.

and thrive there and feed their kids. So the phone number, let me give you the phone number, 844-863-4673. So you can go to metaxis talk.com and click on the feed-their-future banner, metaxistock.com. Or you can dial 844-863-4673. Again, that's 844-8673. again, that's 844, 8663, 4673. So we've got a lot of miraculous conversation coming up today.

But the biggest miracle is when people, not out of self-interest, but just out of their love for their fellow human beings and their love of God, decide to give, to sacrifice. It's a beautiful thing, and I'm asking you to do that today. 844-863-4673, 844-863, 4673, or you can go to metaxisysetalk.com, metaxis talk.com, and you'll see the banner, feed their future. Whatever you can do, you know God will bless you. you're giving to the to the least of these. So please take advantage.

844-863-4673. MyPillow's excited to announce they're extending the mega sale on overstock clearance and brand-new products. This is your chance to grab incredible deals on some of MyPillow's most popular and newly released items. For example, save $40 on the new spring

my pillow bed sheets available in any size, any color. These luxurious sheets are designed for maximum comfort and breathability, perfect for a great night's sleep. looking for a meaningful gift, save 30% on the brand new Mike crosses, inspired by the one Mike has worn every day for over 20 years. These beautifully crafted crosses come in both men's and women's designs

and are proudly made in the USA. Get the six-piece bath or kitchen towel sets for just 3998. Initial qualities are extremely limited, so don't wait. And don't forget the best-selling standard MyPillow, now just 1798. Plus, orders over $75 ship for free. Go to MyPillow.com. Use promo code, Eric, or call 800, 9. 78-3057.

MyPillow.com. promo code Eric or call 800-978-3057 to order now. Mypillow.com. A generation of kids in El Salvador are lost to malnutrition, and the only way to a better future is through a school feeding program. Join me, Eric Metaxus, in saving lives with food for the poor. When you click the Feed Their Future banner at metaxus talk.com, your gift of $100 will provide a child in El Salvador,

with daily school nutrition for a year. Call 844-863-4673. Make your most generous contribution, please. The nutrition these kids get in school is often their only meal of the day. Food for the Poor School Nutrition Program effectively addresses malnutrition and increases children's school attendance. Your donation will also support local farmers who produce the nutritional supplements. You are needed to improve children's nutrition in El Salvador.

Your gift will allow them to focus on learning. rather than worrying about their next meal. Today you have the power to feed a child or an entire classroom for a year. Please click the blue banner at metaxis talk.com or call 844-863-4673 with a gift of $100 to feed their future. Hey, folks, welcome back. It's Miracle Monday. In a few minutes, I'm talking to Mario Marillo. You'll thank me, I think, because I don't know, I mean, unless you already know Mario Marillo,

then you'll definitely thank me for having a month. on the program. But if you don't know who he is, I love to introduce my audience to new people and really to what God is doing because, you know, if you're watching, I don't know, Fox News, you're not going to hear stories like this, right? So we cover, you know, news, current events, politics, but we also cover the kind of thing that you're just not ever going to hear on these other programs. And so in a few minutes, my friend, Mario Marilla is on the program. And then an hour or two, a new friend,

what an amazing story. Seriously, like, nuts. You got to hear it. It's Ken Chin. And oddly enough, he's not Chinese. That's another miracle. Chin is spelled with two ends. So you get that tips you off right there.

Eric, I was just going to say, you know, I've heard a lot of these Miracle Monday stories as a producer here and long time And you're not buying any of this junk No, but what I'll say is this one is particularly incredible and listeners don't want to miss it

and I guess this came to us by Keith by way of Keith, isn't that right? Yeah, he's become a friend of mine and he shared his story with me and it really, really blew me away and he's such a good man. He's just the genuine article. You will be blessed to hear him.

Yeah. No, it's an amazing story, and it will build your faith. And who doesn't need that? Okay, so I was going to update folks on the bad oyster. So we were in Palm Beach. We flew down to Palm Beach for the Socrates event with Josh Hawley. Some of you will remember that we were in Palm Beach like a month ago or so for the event with Josh Hawley. And he had to cancel because he had eaten a bad oyster. Now, that's not true. He had to cancel because he is a senator and he was required to stay in D.C. for some important vote with Cash Patel or Pampandi or who knows. But it was so as crazy that it was canceled. So we rescheduled. So we were back there.

And I am making more friends in Palm Beach. It's amazing how many old friends live there now that I'm thinking, oh my gosh, this Leslie Caranza. Oh my gosh. It's like all these friends that are down there that, you know, it really is a wonderful thing to see old friends, my buddy Jeff Callenberg. We've known him for, gosh, I don't know, close to 30 years. I mean, in New York, really dear friends that are there. But then all these new friends, it's been delightful. And so the Josh Hawley event was amazing. But the night before we went to this fancy club, like a dreamy club. And I won't mention the name of the club because, you know,

I don't want them to think that this was their issue. Who knows? If you eat a thousand oysters, you know, one of them might be bad. And I don't, I honestly, to be really honest, I don't know if I ate a bad oyster because it was not your typical like, oh, I was in the bathroom all night. Like, it was nothing like that. But all I know is I didn't feel well that night. And so it might have not been an oyster because it was not like, you know, horrifying.

But the next morning I woke up and I thought, oh, my gosh, I feel terrible. And I had to go to an event to a breakfast thing. So I went to the breakfast thing. And it was exhausting and I was tired. And, you know, and so by the time I get back, I am just like, I'm in bed the whole day leading up the Socrates event praying. Oh, man. Not metaphorically. Like, I'm praying, my thoughts and prayers. No, no, no. I was actually praying and asking people to pray because to do a Socrates and City event, you know, it takes a lot of energy. You're up in front of all these people. People expect me to be

witty and on my game and paying attention to what the speaker is saying and asking good questions. and, you know, and so this is where I can say very matter-of-factly, I know God is real, and every time I feel this way before an event, I think, well, maybe this is spiritual warfare, because this happens to me the day of an important event a lot. It happens a lot. And I pray and I have the faith that God will meet me and somehow it will work out. And almost every single time, that's exactly what happens. And I have to tell you it's real.

It's kind of amazing because you're like, you know, I don't mean I was a little out of sorts. I mean, I'm sick. I'm like in bed. And I've got a big event. And so I got to the event. I was, you know, not exactly feeling great, but I was feeling well enough to do it. And it was spectacular. And tons of people said that it was spectacular.

spectacular. Josh Foley is a very, very rare figure. He is obviously a senator from Missouri. He's obviously brilliant. He's Yale Law School, which is 100 times harder to get into than Yale undergrad. And he clerked for a Supreme Court justice. So did his wife. That's where he met his wife, so they're brilliant, but he also worked for the Beckett Fund, which awarded me to Canterbury Medal for Religious Freedom back in 2011. They are heroes in the world of religious liberty. And he is a profound Christian. So the conversation I had with him, which will put up on YouTube as soon as we can get it edited, was amazing because I didn't interview him about current events. I interviewed him about his book on manhood, and it is one of those foundational conversations.

And it was really beautiful because he's very open about his faith in the God of the Bible. And we were able to kind of link this idea of manhood and self-sacrifice to Jesus's sacrifice on the cross and how that's a picture of what it is to be a hero. That's a picture of agape love, selfless love for others, and how that's a picture. that's at the heart of what it is to be a man. It's so beautiful. It was a beautiful conversation, but people just raved about it. And it was, it was just terrific. It was absolutely true. You know, most people, including me, only have seen and heard Josh speak within the context of Congress or on a cable news hit. But you and I, Eric, I think, I think it was at a Sean Foyt

let us worship. Yes. Yeah, that's where I met him. Yeah. He stepped up. I was, I marveled at the intellect and the faith and his ability to speak just extemporaneously about things of faith. And he, he's genuinely just the, once again, to use the term. He's, he's the genuine article. He's a, he's a very rare breed. And I can't wait to watch the interview. Yeah, it was, I mean, it was really special, I got to say.

And I, and I hope it catapults him out there so that a lot of people realize he's the, deal. He's not just a politician who believes exactly what I think he believes or what I believe, but he's more than that. He's a man of depth. So it was amazing. And so we'll get that up soon. That's Socrates in the city.com. You should sign up for the newsletter, folks, that's free. Socrates and city.com. It's important what we're doing at Socrates in the city. I also wanted to mention we need your help with food for the poor. I have been mentioning that. we really do. At the end of the segment, I'll give you the phone number, but we really need your help. We're in the last week, and we are farther behind than we've ever been. It's not good, so I'm not

sure what's going on, but I hope you can step up today because we just desperately need your help. So I give you that phone number in a minute. The website is metaxis talk.com. Metaxistalksotalk.com. You'll see the banner there. If you're interested in coming on the Greek cruise, I was talking a lot of people in Florida. They're like, how do I go? At this point, you should call the number. If you go to Ericmetaxis.com slash cruise, the phone number should be there. Ericmetaxis.com slash cruise. Otherwise, dial 844-808-2058, 844-808, 2058, or go to Ericmatmatax.com slash cruise. The food for the poor number, which I hope you'll dial, 844-863, 8473, 844-8467, 844-8663-4-8673, 844-8-6-3-4-6-7-3.

Right back with Mario Marillo. The generation of angels' air, ice-cream castles in the air, the canyons everywhere. A generation of kids in El Salvador are lost to malnutrition, and the only way to a better future is through a school-feeding program.

Join me, Eric Metaxus, in saving lives with food for the poor. When you click the Feed Their Future banner at metaxus talk.com, your gift of $100 will provide a child in El Salvador with daily school nutrition for a year. Call 844-863-4673. Make your most generous contribution, please. The nutrition these kids get in school is often their only meal of the day.

Food for the Poor School Nutrition Program effectively addresses malnutrition and increases children's school attendance. Your donation will also support local farmers who produce the nutritional supplements. You are needed to improve children's nutrition in El Salvador. Your gift will allow them to focus on learning rather than worrying about their next meal. Today you have the power to feed a child or an entire classroom for a year. Please click the blue banner at metaxis talk.com or call 844-863-4673 with a gift of $100 to feed their future. Folks, I don't know if today is Miracle Monday or not.

I left my watch in the other room. But here's the point. I'm talking to my friend Mario Marillo. Mario, welcome back to this program. You traffic in miracles. God has used you miraculously. We had John recently to talk about this film. I am living proof.

When in your life did the miraculous become real to you? I know you've told it on the program in the past, but a lot of folks are just tuning in. Well, I think you're going to find this especially interesting. I was trying to win souls on the University of California campus at Berkeley in the 70s. I was a kid. And here the anti-war movement was flaming. The campus, you know, 44,000 students and the anti-war movement was going on. And I thought that I would study G.K. Chesterton, Francis Schaefer, C.S. Lewis, the Christian Apologist. I thought if I could

arm myself with a gospel that could be debated. And I do believe in that. I do believe that's important, where it says in 2 Corinthians 10, casting down every argument that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. And I do believe that Paul would engage in debate, and I find it very important. However, in this instance, God told me, you have to pray for the sick, and students need to see people healed. And I found that impossible to believe. I, I, I, knew it was the voice of the Lord, but in all my efforts on the campus, nothing was working. They were rejecting it all. They were very leftist university. Then the Lord told me to have an event. Obviously, we had a 90-seat chapel at that time. We, by a miracle, ended up having a building in Berkeley, which is amazing.

and so on a Saturday night we passed out leaflets telling people that they needed prayer for healing and a young man came there and these people brought this this scrambles my theology by the way so this is how it began I'm preaching to about 90 half the audience is ready to leave because they they don't want to hear this and two people carry in a young man who's unconscious from having it taken a combination of LSD and heroin in the back of it. They gave him a shot with a needle mixing both of those drugs into the back of his knee. And he went out. And they were afraid of the law enforcement. So they came to this meeting. And so I've got an unconscious student laying on a couch. And I'm preaching. And my sermon is going over like a pregnant pole altar. It's just

like reaching the end of the pulpit and going straight to the ground. And God says, stop. And you know, a lot of arguments about the sovereignty of God, about does God do it on his own without our, blah, blah, blah. This student on the couch woke up and ran and fell in front of me. And he began cursing, which again scrambles my theology. God healed him and he knew it. And he's standing there screaming at me in anger. He's saying, why would God do this to me?

I hate God. And I have no room to figure this out. That was our first convert. Well, the news of that spread through the university campus, the fraternities, sororities. They all heard about it. So every Saturday night, we never had room for students. And I kept preaching specifically on healing and miracles and the presence of God. That's how it began.

What year was this? 1972. Okay, I was going to say, it had to be around then, as you're describing LSD, heroin, Berkeley campus. Ladies and gentlemen, can you picture this world that we're talking about? I also find it funny that you're talking about G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaper, never, those three intellectual giants of the Christian faith, they never talk about the miraculous. I mean, even C.S. Lewis writes a book about miracles, but he's not moving in any of this. kind of stuff. And you're studying them. And of course, they're three of the greatest, but they're not, this is not Smith Wigglesworth. This is not Catherine. Bullman. This is not anybody in that world,

Orwell Roberts. But God sovereignly calls you to start moving in this stuff. But I still have to go backwards. How old were you when you came to faith to begin with? I was 15 years old. It was about two weeks before I turned 16 and in San Francisco, which is not famous for producing evangelists, by the way. In the 60s, in San Francisco, I can just picture it. Hey Dashbury, folks. You can figure it out. So, yeah, go ahead, go ahead. Well, I was just going to say that one of the things that happened is one day I turned on my radio on my Volkswagen and Catherine Kuhlman was on the Christian station. And I thought, this is the funny and sounding woman I've ever heard.

So I was about to turn it off and I kept it on. And she became my lunch ritual from then on. I went from Chesterton and Francis Schaefer and all these guys to listening to this woman teach who the Holy Spirit was. And that, my friend, became the framework for what started with 90 students to 150 students. to 150 students to 300 to 500 until 2000. I want to come back. I want to do at least another segment with you, Mario, because I just love talking to you.

But I want to frame this for people because I'm old enough to remember who Catherine Coolman was. Not really. I remember Ruth Buzzy on Laugh-In would mock Catherine. Not really in a mean way. But Catherine Coolman came across. I mean, she was this woman evangelist healer. And if you watched her, I don't care where you're coming from.

You go like, you know what? She's kind of weird. She's kind of faking. She's kind of eccentric. And you know why? She actually was. That's why people thought that. But God moved through her.

Through her. When we come back, we'll talk more about Catherine Coleman, talking to Mario Marillo. Welcome back talking to my friend Mario Marillo. about how he came to faith and then starts moving in this healing stuff. So you're telling us stuff. It's just another era, Mario. You were a very young man, and you come to faith. And so here you are reading all these intellectual giants, C.S. Louis, G.K.

Chesterton, Francis Schaefer. And then suddenly you stumble on the radio on Catherine Coolman, who comes across as totally flaky. And in some way, she was, but not really. In other words, she was of God. God. God used her, but I've watched some videos of her, and it really is kind of funny. It's sort of stilted and awkward. And we don't know why God does that. Sometimes God gives you all of the trappings to come across, you know, in the way that it'll appeal to nonbelievers. And other times he does just the opposite. And it's like he's daring people to run away or to make fun of it. And she was kind of like that. But if you listened, you realized, you know what, this is real. So, so God. God pulls you into that. Yes, sir.

Listening to her. Yeah, well, let me tell you one thing about Catherine. Again, a lot of our audience won't remember the name Dick Cavett, but that was a talk show that was quite big at one time. Excuse me. This audience will remember Dick Cavett because Dick Cavett is a personal friend of mine. I don't know if I've shared that with you. Well, then you need to talk to Dick about this.

Dick had Catherine Coopin on his show and they brought a video of a man getting out of a wheelchair in her meeting and Dick Cavett saw the video, the man is in the wheelchair, he gets up and walks. His paralysis is gone.

And I'll never forget it. She looks at him and he says, Catherine, after they run the clip he says Catherine what do you do when something like that happens and she lunged at him and said what would you do and i've never seen dick have it look frightened but his eyes got so big but it was in that moment what the what the bottom line of that is that the supernatural power of god doesn't just affect you on an emotional level you you turn you turn to God. You want to get right with God. It's funny. It's very polarizing because in the Bible,

when a miracle happened, all of the people cheered and the Pharisees wanted to kill it. So whatever you are, it's going to amplify it. And you have to really understand that they called Catherine the religious Betty Davis because she could have been an actress. But there was no doubt that the power of God was with her. Now, I'm just fascinated that you said, that she was on Dick Cavett's show. I didn't know that. And if I get a chance, I'll bring that up to him. Yes. I mean, I have to say that it was, maybe it was 1969. Woody Allen had a big special on ABC, and he had Billy Graham on as his guy. They did a 10-minute conversation together. Now, Billy Graham never trafficked in The Miraculous at all. But it's so fair, I got to talk to Woody Allen about

that, you know, at some point briefly. But it's such a fascinating thing that there are people when they're confronted by this, they just don't know where to go with it and they kind of have to step away. And of course, God wants us to step toward it. Now, you actually knew Catherine Coolman. Well, I never met her, but I worked with her team for a long, long time. And I was at her meetings in the Shrine Auditorium virtually every month. She was in the Shrine Auditorium from 1966 until 1976 when she died.

It was during the 70s that I would come from Berkeley 400 miles to go to the shrine and became a part of watching and seeing the thousands of people that were touched miraculously. It was an astonishing event to watch her, and especially the presence of God that was with her and on her. And so that was a tremendous imprint on me to be a part of that. And I believed it needed to be taken to the university. That's where I felt it needed to be. It needed to be in one of the most intellectual climates you can ever imagine. And I never thought for an instant that I would be in Polly Ballroom,

the student union building of the University of California. I didn't dream I would preach from the steps of Sproul, Plaza and used Wheeler Hall, Berkeley Community Theater, and all these students and professors were touched by the power of God. We had a group in our ministry called the Lions of Judah. They were 17 Jewish atheists that had gotten saved. I only led Ralph Oyer was, excuse me, I only led one of them to Christ. Roger Gottlieb was his name. Ralph Hoyer was another student.

And when he got saved, when Roger Gottlieb got saved, he led his friends to the Lord. They all got baptized in the spirit. Some of them were in the Bolt School of Law. That were students there. They were way above my pay grade, because I had like one year of community college beyond Hollywood, beyond high school.

And at that moment, to see these students being touched by God, it took a life of its own. And they literally devised ways of witnessing that I didn't even understand. But it was just amazing. So it kind of snowballed. Suddenly it was during the middle of the Jesus movement is what it was. Well, I mean, most of us, see, that was a time of revival in America. think we're going through that again right now. Yes.

Because when you talk about the miraculous, it seems clear. I mean, even a cessationist says when Jesus is doing miracles or the disciples are doing miracles, that attracts people to Jesus. People, the whole point of the miracle, and I write about this in my miracles book, the whole point of a miracle is God trying to get your attention. He doesn't need to do miracles. Everything is a miracle. But when he does a miracle miracle, he does it to make you go, what, what, what?

this must be real. He does it on purpose. So he does it, you know, in biblical times. And ever since, God does these things. I think we need more of that now, because when somebody sees a miracle, a real miracle, it changes everything. You've been describing it, you know, many times on this program. And I think, I think we need more of that. I want to hold you over for a final segment, Mario. Folks, this is important stuff. But the miraculous is important. And I really believe, We're in a miraculous season now where God wants to do this stuff to bring people to himself. So this is, I just find this very, very exciting. In any case, we'll be back.

I'm talking to Mario Marillo. I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end. Welcome back, folks, talking to Mario Marillo. We're talking about miracles. Mario, I want to talk to you about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I don't know if I've ever talked about it on this program before. There are many, many, many, many Christian friends I have, dear friends who don't, they don't go there,

they don't get into that. How would you describe that to somebody who is just maybe not comfortable with it or that it seems confusing or somehow threatening to them? Well, I think that what needs to be said about the baptism of the Holy Spirit is what Jesus said about it. He said, you will receive power and be my witness. We live in an era where the baptism of the Holy Spirit, unfortunately, the advocates of it, I'm not just talking about the critics, but the advocates of it have given it a tag where it's emotional or it helps you enhance your walk with God. It's a turbocharger to your faith.

And none of those things are the primary purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It's an extremely evangelistic gift. He said, you will be my witness after you receive power. Now, why is that essential? Well, you know, in your book, is atheism dead? There's a powerful argument that you make about how suddenly atheism has lost its hold on society. Powerful book. And I thought to myself, one of the reasons that we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit

is because we're in this temporary reprieve in our country. Regardless of your Democrat Republican, we are in a moment where we have been spared something and there's a hunger for God. The baptism and the Holy Spirit has got to be regarded as this. We can't let souls go to hell. We can't let America go down the tubes. The church needs to become a soul-winning machine. It's wonderful that we believe that we have the luxury to conjugate all these Greek verbs and find out about the silver tax on the right side of Daniel's altar and what we think about eschatology.

But I feel that all of that needs to be dispensed with almost entirely in favor of a surge, a surge of going out and in the power of God being able to witness. Now, we don't have time to learn all of the nuances of how to witness. And sometime in the Jesus movement, we learn that spilling Christ on people, by our spontaneous testimony, the fact that it was disjointed, it was not well rehearsed or polished, had a great impact. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is why the Pentecostal movement has now got about 650 million adherents around the world

because of its evangelistic nature. It is what turns you into a soul-winning machine. And I think that's what needs to be said about it. So in the Baptist and the Holy Spirit, we've got like 45 seconds left. Can people just pray for that, ask God for that? The Bible says that God gives it to those who obey him. And so if it's an act of obedience and it's a part of what Christ died on the cross to give you, it is absolutely available.

And a sincere heart will receive. They will receive. This is powerful stuff. We've got to get you back on to talk more about this, Mario. it's been too long. Thank you. Yes. We began today because there is a lot to talk about.

The baptism of the police, I mean, when I became a serious Christian in 1988, a few months later, I went to a conference, and I think it was Ridgefield, Connecticut, and it was Terry Fulham, and it was the St. Paul's Darian group, and they were all into the charismatic stuff. And Lee Buck, an evangelist, he just prayed,

and I received the baptism. And you can't make it. And you can't make it up. It just happened. It's real. Absolutely. And I've been speaking in tongues for all these years. It's just a real thing.

And it's available to everybody. People shouldn't be uncomfortable. It's either God or, you know, let's reject it. We're at a time. Mario Marillo. God bless you, my friend. Thanks for coming on. Thank you.