The defining event of our faith and church is the resurrection of Christ. Calvary not only demonstrated His power over death, but also God’s capacity to keep His word. Dr. Stanley reminds us that without this event, Christianity would lose its message that Christ came to earth to die for our sins and triumph over death. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to intouch.org/tv.

the miracle Charles and Rebecca prayed

for came through the pastor at Moffett

Memorial

Reverend hammock offered Charles the

means to attend the University of

Richmond on a four-year scholarship

[Music]

before classes began

Charles decided to visit his grandfather

George Washington Stanley a fiery

Spirit-filled Pentecostal preacher in

North Carolina

though Charles had only seen his

grandfather a handful of times

God used this particular visit to impact

Charles’s life and future Ministry in a

tremendous way

I was absolutely fascinated that he had

heard God speak to him specifically

about things I wanted him to tell me

about it and so we sat on his screen and

back porch there in Siler City North

Carolina for a week and really all I did

was listen and ask him questions and we

just talked every day

he would tell us these stories that his

grandfather told him about his ministry

and God’s faithfulness to him and there

were some wild stories there were there

were stories that I looked back now and

I think could that have actually

happened but then he actually wrote a

little book that we didn’t know existed

until a few years ago and sure enough

some of those stories that he told my

father are in that book so apparently

they they actually happened the way that

he recounted them

and as I listened to all the things God

had done in his life and I thought well

if you speak to my granddad like that

how would you would you speak to my

heart I think I had this this deep sense

of hunger that I wanted a real God I

wanted God to be real in my life I

didn’t want just to be believing that

there is a God and reading the scripture

how is this real can God be real in my

life

he said Charles if God tells you to run

your head through a brick wall you head

for the wall and you get there God Will

Make A hold for it and what I realized

later he was saying was you obey God and

leave all the consequences to him that

one statement God just etched in my mind

and heart

that my goal was to be obedient to God

and I think that probably has been the

overriding theme in my heart to obey him

and to trust him and to see what God

will do in my life

[Music]

so whereas that statement from his

grandfather was kind of the anchor

statement I think there were so many

things that um that connected to that

through the circumstances of his life

and he was forced to be dependent on God

so I think all of those things came

together to create this very very

Dynamic and again simple but not

simplistic this very simple confidence

in God as his Heavenly Father

[Music]

in college

Charles met Anna Johnson a fellow

student who shared his desire to serve

the Lord

after graduation Charles and Anna headed

to Southwestern Theological Seminary in

Fort Worth Texas

as their relationship with God deepened

so did their love for each other

in 1955 Charles and Anna were married

and began their life together

before Charles’s final year in seminary

the newlyweds spent the summer at Anna’s

family Cottage in the North Carolina

Mountains

there an unexpected encounter on the

lake revealed God’s purpose for their

trip

[Music]

Reverend Melton had been here for over

50 years

when he announced he was going to resign

there was kind of that sense of where do

we go from here

someone made the connection with with Dr

Stanley to come and preach a trial

sermon

we were out fishing this man came down

and he said are you Charles Stanley I

said yes he said you’re a Seminary

Student I said yes he said about pastors

going to be gone on vacation and one of

you come preach for us next Sunday so I

told him I would

so I went and preached that Sunday and

uh they said well you come back next

Sunday because he’s going to be gone two

weeks I said okay so I went the Second

Sunday they said we’re having a little

party tonight would you come join us at

that party I said we will

so they said well we had a little

meeting and we decided we want to call

you as our pastor

first of all first of all I had another

year of seminar I said no no I couldn’t

do that because I have another year of

Seminary and you didn’t want to call me

to be the past and I have another no we

know you have another year Seminary and

Dr Melton his name was Noah Abraham

Melton he’d been there for 47 years

he said I’m happy to wait because I

believe you’re what we need

even though it was his first church you

would never have known it from the way

he preached and the way he he led this

church

those first few months as he was here

and and people began to see this is a

seasoned minister

you could tell he was called into the

ministry by the Lord