From wars and rumors of war abroad, to the rise of anti-Christian, "woke" ideology here at home, it’s clear that Americans are living in perilous and unprecedented times. Some would even say that we’re witnessing biblical prophecy unfold in real time. Stakelbeck Tonight will make sense of these stunning developments through a bold and biblical lens.
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Stakelbeck Tonight | Erick Stakelbeck: Bullet Proof Faith | Stakelbeck Tonight | December 29, 2025
- Welcome to
- 00:00:17.540 --> 00:00:18.475
- A very special edition of stakelbeck tonight.
- 00:00:18.475 --> 00:00:21.211
- I'm erick stakelbeck.
- 00:00:21.211 --> 00:00:22.412
- And before i ever set foot in the middle east before terror
- 00:00:22.412 --> 00:00:26.583
- Tunnels, rocket fire or frontline reporting,
- 00:00:26.583 --> 00:00:29.719
- I fought my most difficult battles at home.
- 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:33.523
- Growing up in northeast philadelphia,
- 00:00:33.523 --> 00:00:35.758
- I faced violence that nearly took my life twice.
- 00:00:35.758 --> 00:00:39.729
- Two separate moments, years apart.
- 00:00:39.729 --> 00:00:42.065
- That should have ended my story before it ever truly began.
- 00:00:42.065 --> 00:00:45.969
- Moments so intense, so sudden that they changed
- 00:00:45.969 --> 00:00:49.706
- Me and my relationship with god forever.
- 00:00:49.706 --> 00:00:53.042
- Back then, i didn't understand what was happening.
- 00:00:53.042 --> 00:00:55.645
- I didn't see the bigger picture.
- 00:00:55.645 --> 00:00:58.114
- But looking back now, i can see it all clearly.
- 00:00:58.114 --> 00:01:01.384
- God was there and he was moving.
- 00:01:01.384 --> 00:01:04.120
- He was shielding me when i didn't even know to ask
- 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:07.824
- For protection.
- 00:01:07.824 --> 00:01:09.025
- He was pursuing me when i wasn't pursuing him,
- 00:01:09.025 --> 00:01:12.929
- And he was preparing me, shaping me for the battles yet
- 00:01:12.929 --> 00:01:16.599
- To come.
- 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:17.567
- My near-death experiences didn't break me.
- 00:01:17.567 --> 00:01:20.503
- By god's grace, they built something inside of me,
- 00:01:20.503 --> 00:01:23.773
- A strength i didn't earn, a courage i didn't create.
- 00:01:23.773 --> 00:01:28.111
- A faith that learned to stand when everything said
- 00:01:28.111 --> 00:01:31.681
- It should fall.
- 00:01:31.681 --> 00:01:33.216
- I shared my story recently at the annual biblical worldview
- 00:01:33.216 --> 00:01:36.419
- Conference at preston wood church in plano, texas.
- 00:01:36.419 --> 00:01:40.223
- This is the journey of how god turned my hardest moments
- 00:01:40.223 --> 00:01:44.127
- Into purpose and turned fear into bulletproof faith.
- 00:01:44.127 --> 00:01:50.700
- April 8th, 1999.
- 00:01:51.100 --> 00:01:54.771
- Yes, i'm old.
- 00:01:54.771 --> 00:01:56.773
- I just graduated college about two months prior.
- 00:01:56.773 --> 00:02:01.044
- I'm ready to embark on this media career.
- 00:02:01.044 --> 00:02:04.013
- It's an exciting time.
- 00:02:04.013 --> 00:02:06.416
- I'm sending out resumes and clips of my writing.
- 00:02:06.416 --> 00:02:09.052
- I'm on tv now, but also a writer.
- 00:02:09.052 --> 00:02:11.221
- I've written books, i write frequently.
- 00:02:11.221 --> 00:02:13.056
- I wanted to be a writer, so i'm sending out my clips.
- 00:02:13.056 --> 00:02:16.693
- It's an exciting time in life.
- 00:02:16.693 --> 00:02:19.028
- Everything is ahead of me.
- 00:02:19.028 --> 00:02:21.331
- So april 8th, 1999.
- 00:02:21.331 --> 00:02:23.099
- I grew up in northeast philadelphia,
- 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:25.368
- Working class neighborhood.
- 00:02:25.368 --> 00:02:27.870
- My dad was an electrician, worked in the factory,
- 00:02:27.870 --> 00:02:30.273
- Came home every day drenched in sweat.
- 00:02:30.273 --> 00:02:32.041
- I'll never forget it. mom was a secretary.
- 00:02:32.041 --> 00:02:34.477
- Very humble. beginnings.
- 00:02:34.477 --> 00:02:35.645
- Didn't have much.
- 00:02:35.645 --> 00:02:38.348
- So to graduate college
- 00:02:38.348 --> 00:02:39.582
- Was a big deal in my family.
- 00:02:39.582 --> 00:02:42.619
- It's a beautiful spring night.
- 00:02:43.219 --> 00:02:44.420
- Early spring.
- 00:02:44.420 --> 00:02:45.588
- And what do i do? i've been stressed out.
- 00:02:45.588 --> 00:02:47.790
- Finishing college, sending out clips,
- 00:02:47.790 --> 00:02:49.626
- Getting ready to embark on this career.
- 00:02:49.626 --> 00:02:51.461
- I need to unwind.
- 00:02:51.461 --> 00:02:53.896
- How do i unwind?
- 00:02:54.297 --> 00:02:56.065
- Basketball.
- 00:02:56.065 --> 00:02:57.667
- Get together with my old friend.
- 00:02:57.667 --> 00:02:59.002
- Surprise, surprise. i'm six foot five.
- 00:02:59.002 --> 00:03:00.837
- I was a college basketball player.
- 00:03:00.837 --> 00:03:03.106
- Let's go play pick up basketball.
- 00:03:03.106 --> 00:03:05.341
- At the neighborhood playground where i grew up,
- 00:03:05.341 --> 00:03:07.410
- We call it the rec recreation center.
- 00:03:07.410 --> 00:03:09.812
- So i went up the rec.
- 00:03:09.812 --> 00:03:11.247
- That's how we phrased it.
- 00:03:11.247 --> 00:03:12.915
- Got together.
- 00:03:12.915 --> 00:03:14.317
- Playing time of my life three hours straight.
- 00:03:14.317 --> 00:03:17.453
- Pick up basketball afterwards.
- 00:03:18.054 --> 00:03:19.822
- We just hanging out, catching up.
- 00:03:19.822 --> 00:03:22.792
- About 20 of us lifelong friends.
- 00:03:22.792 --> 00:03:24.861
- Guys i grew up with.
- 00:03:24.861 --> 00:03:26.996
- All of a sudden, it's about 1030 at night.
- 00:03:26.996 --> 00:03:30.033
- All of a sudden, three guys come walking up.
- 00:03:30.033 --> 00:03:33.636
- Now, i never seen these three before.
- 00:03:33.636 --> 00:03:36.272
- Probably 18, 19 years old. about your age.
- 00:03:36.272 --> 00:03:38.741
- Not much older.
- 00:03:38.741 --> 00:03:39.909
- They were clearly under the influence.
- 00:03:39.909 --> 00:03:42.645
- Will say drunk drugs.
- 00:03:42.645 --> 00:03:45.248
- Something was going on
- 00:03:45.248 --> 00:03:46.916
- And they're literally swaying back and forth.
- 00:03:47.850 --> 00:03:50.453
- It doesn't look good.
- 00:03:50.453 --> 00:03:52.322
- There's a ten foot high chain link fence
- 00:03:52.322 --> 00:03:55.525
- Separating me and my friends from these three individuals.
- 00:03:55.525 --> 00:04:00.697
- And i have to say, at first it didn't really faze me.
- 00:04:00.697 --> 00:04:04.067
- They asked for someone.
- 00:04:04.067 --> 00:04:05.902
- They were looking for someone.
- 00:04:05.902 --> 00:04:07.370
- They weren't aggressive.
- 00:04:07.370 --> 00:04:08.738
- They didn't say it in an aggressive tone.
- 00:04:08.738 --> 00:04:10.573
- They didn't ask in an aggressive tone.
- 00:04:10.573 --> 00:04:13.509
- And basically we said, the guy you're looking for isn't here.
- 00:04:13.509 --> 00:04:16.846
- He was a younger guy.
- 00:04:17.347 --> 00:04:18.281
- I didn't even know him, by the way.
- 00:04:18.281 --> 00:04:19.682
- I was out of the loop by then.
- 00:04:19.682 --> 00:04:21.317
- But we said he's not here.
- 00:04:21.317 --> 00:04:22.685
- And they left.
- 00:04:22.685 --> 00:04:24.654
- End of conversation.
- 00:04:24.654 --> 00:04:26.756
- Or so i thought.
- 00:04:26.756 --> 00:04:28.424
- About five minutes later, one of them returns.
- 00:04:28.424 --> 00:04:32.261
- Just one.
- 00:04:32.261 --> 00:04:33.463
- Now, remember, there were three at the outset.
- 00:04:33.463 --> 00:04:36.399
- Number one, why would anyone come back?
- 00:04:37.166 --> 00:04:39.268
- And just one of them? where are the other two?
- 00:04:39.268 --> 00:04:41.371
- So all of a sudden, you're growing up in philadelphia.
- 00:04:41.371 --> 00:04:43.906
- Your street smart sensors start going off.
- 00:04:43.906 --> 00:04:47.210
- What's going on here?
- 00:04:47.210 --> 00:04:48.511
- What's he up to?
- 00:04:48.511 --> 00:04:50.813
- Now, i mentioned there's a chain link fence
- 00:04:50.813 --> 00:04:52.949
- About ten foot high, about five feet from me.
- 00:04:52.949 --> 00:04:55.952
- He's very close to where i'm standing.
- 00:04:55.952 --> 00:04:58.087
- Now, i hadn't been paying much attention at first.
- 00:04:58.087 --> 00:05:00.723
- Now i was paying attention.
- 00:05:00.723 --> 00:05:03.760
- And this young guy, clearly still swaying, by the way,
- 00:05:03.760 --> 00:05:07.864
- Starts exchanging words with some of my friends.
- 00:05:07.864 --> 00:05:10.666
- Not very pleasant words.
- 00:05:10.666 --> 00:05:12.568
- Some expletives are dropped.
- 00:05:12.568 --> 00:05:15.638
- And now i'm really paying attention.
- 00:05:15.638 --> 00:05:17.840
- And just as i start paying attention,
- 00:05:17.840 --> 00:05:20.676
- I hear a loud pop
- 00:05:20.676 --> 00:05:23.513
- And i feel a force against my right hip.
- 00:05:23.513 --> 00:05:26.949
- I describe it as someone getting in a car and
- 00:05:26.949 --> 00:05:30.319
- Putting a car in reverse at top speed and backing into you.
- 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:35.491
- It was a force against my hip.
- 00:05:36.092 --> 00:05:38.161
- The pop, the force all happened very quickly.
- 00:05:38.161 --> 00:05:42.131
- I look up and the swaying stranger, as i've called him,
- 00:05:42.131 --> 00:05:46.702
- Is standing there with a gun in his hand,
- 00:05:46.702 --> 00:05:50.006
- Still swaying.
- 00:05:50.339 --> 00:05:52.475
- It dawns on me i've been shot.
- 00:05:52.475 --> 00:05:56.479
- Adrenaline kicks in i didn't fall to the ground.
- 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:00.483
- Adrenaline kicks in and i run.
- 00:06:00.483 --> 00:06:03.853
- And everyone says he's got a gun.
- 00:06:03.853 --> 00:06:05.922
- Everyone scattering and every which way, every direction.
- 00:06:05.922 --> 00:06:08.991
- Again about 20 of us.
- 00:06:08.991 --> 00:06:10.293
- And by the way, about ten minutes before the shooting,
- 00:06:10.293 --> 00:06:14.130
- My wife to be, who was then my girlfriend
- 00:06:14.130 --> 00:06:16.899
- Was there with me by my side.
- 00:06:16.899 --> 00:06:20.102
- God knows what would have happened
- 00:06:20.102 --> 00:06:22.705
- If she was still there.
- 00:06:22.705 --> 00:06:25.208
- But she had left.
- 00:06:25.208 --> 00:06:26.175
- Thankfully i'm running.
- 00:06:26.175 --> 00:06:28.711
- We run into a car in the parking lot.
- 00:06:28.711 --> 00:06:31.147
- I'm bleeding everywhere.
- 00:06:31.147 --> 00:06:32.982
- And the bullet is here.
- 00:06:32.982 --> 00:06:36.352
- Is it my liver?
- 00:06:36.352 --> 00:06:37.587
- My kidneys?
- 00:06:37.587 --> 00:06:39.422
- Look, when you get shot, you think you're going to die?
- 00:06:39.422 --> 00:06:43.793
- Especially in
- 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:44.827
- Such a sensitive area,
- 00:06:44.827 --> 00:06:47.930
- My life is over.
- 00:06:47.930 --> 00:06:49.065
- Quite literally.
- 00:06:49.065 --> 00:06:57.006
- Quite literally.
- 00:06:57.006 --> 00:06:59.243
- And i make it back
- 00:06:59.676 --> 00:07:01.612
- To this special edition of stacked bed tonight.
- 00:07:01.612 --> 00:07:04.281
- I recently shared my very improbable personal testimony
- 00:07:04.281 --> 00:07:08.318
- At preston wood church in plano, texas.
- 00:07:08.318 --> 00:07:10.988
- As i shared before the break, i was shot
- 00:07:10.988 --> 00:07:13.590
- In an act of street violence in my hometown of philadelphia.
- 00:07:13.590 --> 00:07:17.160
- I thought my life was over, but god had other plans.
- 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:21.398
- Take a look.
- 00:07:21.732 --> 00:07:24.601
- So i'm in the back seat of this car.
- 00:07:24.601 --> 00:07:26.570
- Two friends of mine are driving to the hospital.
- 00:07:26.570 --> 00:07:28.972
- The hospital is about five minutes away,
- 00:07:28.972 --> 00:07:31.308
- And a good buddy of mine who i grew up with
- 00:07:31.308 --> 00:07:33.210
- Is sitting in the backseat with me.
- 00:07:33.210 --> 00:07:36.980
- The blood, the pool of blood is getting
- 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:38.916
- Bigger and bigger and bigger.
- 00:07:38.916 --> 00:07:41.685
- I still have the shorts, by the way.
- 00:07:42.452 --> 00:07:43.954
- I should have brought them with the hole in them.
- 00:07:43.954 --> 00:07:46.023
- The basketball shorts.
- 00:07:46.023 --> 00:07:47.057
- Mesh basketball shorts.
- 00:07:47.057 --> 00:07:49.126
- The pool is growing.
- 00:07:49.126 --> 00:07:50.260
- There's blood everywhere in the car.
- 00:07:50.260 --> 00:07:53.230
- I'm going to die.
- 00:07:53.230 --> 00:07:54.665
- Or so i thought.
- 00:07:54.665 --> 00:07:55.732
- I need comfort at this moment.
- 00:07:55.732 --> 00:07:58.368
- Where is it all going?
- 00:07:58.368 --> 00:08:00.270
- So, of course, i look to my friend
- 00:08:00.270 --> 00:08:01.805
- Who's sitting next to me now. i've known him my whole life.
- 00:08:01.805 --> 00:08:04.241
- And remember, this is a philly guy.
- 00:08:04.241 --> 00:08:07.010
- They don't mince words.
- 00:08:07.010 --> 00:08:08.111
- You've seen eagles fans.
- 00:08:08.111 --> 00:08:11.248
- A little rough around the edges.
- 00:08:11.882 --> 00:08:13.216
- Just a bit.
- 00:08:13.216 --> 00:08:14.851
- So i look at them for some comfort.
- 00:08:14.851 --> 00:08:17.421
- I say, what do you think?
- 00:08:17.421 --> 00:08:19.556
- He looks at my shorts, looks at me and says,
- 00:08:19.556 --> 00:08:22.492
- I don't know, dude, but it doesn't look good.
- 00:08:22.492 --> 00:08:25.929
- Thank you very
- 00:08:26.263 --> 00:08:26.930
- Much for those words of comfort.
- 00:08:26.930 --> 00:08:30.133
- We get to the hospital
- 00:08:30.133 --> 00:08:32.636
- And it's touch or go.
- 00:08:32.636 --> 00:08:34.471
- Here's the good news.
- 00:08:34.471 --> 00:08:36.840
- You're going to live.
- 00:08:36.840 --> 00:08:37.774
- They told me right away.
- 00:08:37.774 --> 00:08:40.310
- But here's the bad news.
- 00:08:40.310 --> 00:08:41.545
- The bullet.
- 00:08:41.545 --> 00:08:42.179
- It's a 22 caliber bullet.
- 00:08:42.179 --> 00:08:44.681
- It is so close to your femoral artery
- 00:08:44.681 --> 00:08:47.784
- That we don't know what to do about it.
- 00:08:48.619 --> 00:08:50.420
- Now, your femoral artery,
- 00:08:50.420 --> 00:08:52.222
- It's the main artery running down your leg.
- 00:08:52.222 --> 00:08:55.492
- And the bullet was literally nestled
- 00:08:56.259 --> 00:08:59.496
- About a millimeter from this major artery.
- 00:08:59.496 --> 00:09:03.133
- Translation a millimeter further,
- 00:09:03.133 --> 00:09:06.937
- I would have bled out and died.
- 00:09:06.937 --> 00:09:09.573
- If that bullet struck that artery,
- 00:09:09.573 --> 00:09:11.975
- I would not be standing here today.
- 00:09:11.975 --> 00:09:14.778
- And the doctor told me that.
- 00:09:14.778 --> 00:09:16.813
- He said you're a miracle.
- 00:09:16.813 --> 00:09:18.882
- If you would have shifted an inch to the left
- 00:09:18.882 --> 00:09:21.118
- Or the right,
- 00:09:21.118 --> 00:09:22.552
- That bullet would have sliced through your femoral artery.
- 00:09:22.552 --> 00:09:25.522
- You would have died in that car right over here.
- 00:09:25.522 --> 00:09:28.158
- You would have bled out.
- 00:09:28.158 --> 00:09:29.860
- You are already lost a good amount of blood.
- 00:09:30.761 --> 00:09:32.696
- You would have bled out and died if that artery was sliced.
- 00:09:32.696 --> 00:09:35.632
- But it didn't.
- 00:09:35.632 --> 00:09:37.434
- It's about a millimeter from your artery.
- 00:09:37.434 --> 00:09:40.470
- You're very lucky, man.
- 00:09:40.971 --> 00:09:42.239
- Today, i'd say blessed.
- 00:09:42.239 --> 00:09:46.677
- But a lot of questions remain.
- 00:09:47.277 --> 00:09:49.913
- What about the bullet?
- 00:09:49.913 --> 00:09:51.815
- Keep the bullet in. take it out.
- 00:09:51.815 --> 00:09:53.717
- What are they going to do?
- 00:09:53.717 --> 00:09:55.318
- Am i going to walk with a limp for the rest of my life?
- 00:09:55.318 --> 00:09:57.788
- Am i going to walk at all?
- 00:09:57.788 --> 00:09:59.723
- They couldn't answer.
- 00:09:59.723 --> 00:10:02.159
- Everything was on the table and none of it good.
- 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:06.163
- I didn't have any answers as i tried to sleep that night.
- 00:10:06.163 --> 00:10:09.833
- I stared at the ceiling the entire night.
- 00:10:09.833 --> 00:10:13.537
- I didn't know jesus personally at that time.
- 00:10:13.537 --> 00:10:16.573
- I believed in god.
- 00:10:16.573 --> 00:10:17.607
- I didn't know him personally. big difference.
- 00:10:17.607 --> 00:10:20.243
- But i cried out and said, why god? why?
- 00:10:21.111 --> 00:10:24.347
- Why did this happen to me?
- 00:10:24.347 --> 00:10:26.183
- I didn't deserve this.
- 00:10:26.183 --> 00:10:27.584
- I wasn't doing anything wrong.
- 00:10:27.584 --> 00:10:29.786
- And on a side note, this is another testimony
- 00:10:29.786 --> 00:10:32.889
- For another time.
- 00:10:32.889 --> 00:10:33.957
- A few years prior to the gunshot.
- 00:10:33.957 --> 00:10:36.693
- I was beaten half to death.
- 00:10:36.693 --> 00:10:38.495
- I don't exaggerate with a baseball bat
- 00:10:38.495 --> 00:10:41.598
- Very badly.
- 00:10:41.932 --> 00:10:42.733
- I was in intensive care for a week.
- 00:10:42.733 --> 00:10:46.069
- Now they call philadelphia the city of brotherly love.
- 00:10:46.069 --> 00:10:49.906
- For me, it was the city of brotherly love.
- 00:10:49.906 --> 00:10:54.578
- Survive the baseball bat.
- 00:10:55.145 --> 00:10:56.680
- Somehow. again. wrong place, wrong time.
- 00:10:56.680 --> 00:10:59.282
- I was breaking up a fight.
- 00:10:59.282 --> 00:11:01.084
- Blessed are the peacemakers, i guess.
- 00:11:01.084 --> 00:11:04.755
- Gunshot. same deal.
- 00:11:05.222 --> 00:11:06.723
- Bottom line,
- 00:11:06.723 --> 00:11:08.225
- That entire night, i'm staring at the ceiling. why?
- 00:11:08.225 --> 00:11:11.461
- I'm in the pit of life.
- 00:11:11.461 --> 00:11:13.530
- Imagine it.
- 00:11:13.530 --> 00:11:14.531
- I'm 23.
- 00:11:14.531 --> 00:11:15.398
- I had the whole world ahead of me.
- 00:11:15.398 --> 00:11:18.101
- And now i have a bullet in my hip.
- 00:11:18.101 --> 00:11:20.270
- I may not walk.
- 00:11:20.270 --> 00:11:22.272
- What is my life?
- 00:11:22.672 --> 00:11:23.807
- What am i going to do? i didn't sleep a wink.
- 00:11:23.807 --> 00:11:26.243
- The bullet is literally burning in my hip.
- 00:11:26.243 --> 00:11:28.678
- The pain was excruciating.
- 00:11:28.678 --> 00:11:31.214
- Worst night of my life.
- 00:11:31.214 --> 00:11:33.083
- Nothing to live for.
- 00:11:33.083 --> 00:11:35.752
- And then the phone rings.
- 00:11:35.752 --> 00:11:45.008
- And then the phone rings.
- 00:11:45.008 --> 00:11:47.231
- Welcome back to the special edition
- 00:11:47.965 --> 00:11:50.802
- Of stakelbeck tonight bulletproof faith.
- 00:11:50.802 --> 00:11:54.005
- When that 22 caliber bullet entered my body,
- 00:11:54.005 --> 00:11:57.775
- I honestly thought those were my final moments here on earth.
- 00:11:57.775 --> 00:12:02.013
- I remember wandering
- 00:12:02.013 --> 00:12:03.014
- Through the burning pain and loss of blood.
- 00:12:03.014 --> 00:12:05.383
- If i could even make it to the hospital.
- 00:12:05.383 --> 00:12:07.919
- But i did.
- 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.086
- And lying in a hospital bed with the walls closing in.
- 00:12:09.086 --> 00:12:12.323
- My life was about to take another unexpected turn.
- 00:12:12.323 --> 00:12:17.328
- Worst night of my life.
- 00:12:17.829 --> 00:12:19.697
- Nothing to live for.
- 00:12:19.697 --> 00:12:22.333
- And then the phone rings.
- 00:12:22.333 --> 00:12:24.168
- 8 a.m..
- 00:12:24.402 --> 00:12:25.636
- About ten hours after i was shot.
- 00:12:25.636 --> 00:12:28.706
- And it's my dad.
- 00:12:29.106 --> 00:12:30.575
- Now, my dad had been by my side, a bedside vigil.
- 00:12:30.575 --> 00:12:34.111
- He went home and took a break to get some sleep before
- 00:12:34.111 --> 00:12:37.248
- Coming back to the hospital by my side.
- 00:12:37.248 --> 00:12:40.318
- And he says, hey, first of all, he checks on me, of course.
- 00:12:41.485 --> 00:12:44.322
- And he says, you just got a message
- 00:12:44.322 --> 00:12:46.924
- On the answering machine.
- 00:12:46.924 --> 00:12:48.926
- Now, kids, ask your parents.
- 00:12:48.926 --> 00:12:50.895
- This is 1999.
- 00:12:50.895 --> 00:12:52.530
- We had this thing
- 00:12:52.530 --> 00:12:53.764
- Called an answering machine, this neanderthal contraption.
- 00:12:53.764 --> 00:12:56.567
- But it actually worked.
- 00:12:56.567 --> 00:12:59.370
- And he said, you have a message
- 00:12:59.370 --> 00:13:00.605
- On the answering machine from slam magazine.
- 00:13:00.605 --> 00:13:03.975
- Now, it was my favorite magazine.
- 00:13:04.709 --> 00:13:06.844
- This is 1999.
- 00:13:06.844 --> 00:13:08.579
- It was a basketball magazine national publication
- 00:13:08.579 --> 00:13:11.449
- On newsstands around the country. loved it.
- 00:13:11.449 --> 00:13:15.453
- And on a whim, i sent them samples
- 00:13:16.187 --> 00:13:19.190
- Of my writing and my resume.
- 00:13:19.190 --> 00:13:20.892
- And they'll never call me back.
- 00:13:20.892 --> 00:13:23.594
- They called back
- 00:13:23.594 --> 00:13:26.264
- Ten hours after i was shot.
- 00:13:26.264 --> 00:13:28.799
- And my dad said, look there in new york city,
- 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:30.668
- You might want to hop on the train, go up there.
- 00:13:30.668 --> 00:13:32.503
- You better call him back.
- 00:13:32.503 --> 00:13:34.572
- I'm thinking, wait a minute. what?
- 00:13:34.572 --> 00:13:36.941
- I'm laying in bed. i can barely move.
- 00:13:36.941 --> 00:13:39.176
- This bullet is burning.
- 00:13:39.176 --> 00:13:40.611
- I was just shot.
- 00:13:40.611 --> 00:13:42.213
- And yet i call.
- 00:13:42.213 --> 00:13:45.016
- I call slam magazine
- 00:13:45.016 --> 00:13:47.652
- And i say yes.
- 00:13:47.652 --> 00:13:48.686
- This is erick stakelbeck, very nice to meet you.
- 00:13:48.686 --> 00:13:50.121
- Indubitably.
- 00:13:50.121 --> 00:13:50.855
- It's great to be with you.
- 00:13:50.855 --> 00:13:53.257
- And they assign me an article.
- 00:13:53.257 --> 00:13:55.359
- I'm interviewing a guy from notre dame,
- 00:13:55.359 --> 00:13:57.128
- From the notre dame basketball team.
- 00:13:57.128 --> 00:13:58.796
- They're known for football, of course,
- 00:13:58.796 --> 00:13:59.864
- But from the basketball team.
- 00:13:59.864 --> 00:14:01.799
- We'll pay you for it.
- 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:03.234
- It's going to be in this national publication
- 00:14:03.234 --> 00:14:05.403
- All throughout the united states.
- 00:14:05.403 --> 00:14:06.771
- Every newsstand, when you go through
- 00:14:06.771 --> 00:14:08.172
- The supermarket, they're slam magazine.
- 00:14:08.172 --> 00:14:11.008
- I hang up the phone
- 00:14:11.475 --> 00:14:12.610
- And folks, picture this and wrap your heads around this.
- 00:14:12.610 --> 00:14:15.646
- I was in the absolute pit of life.
- 00:14:16.414 --> 00:14:20.618
- Ten hours after i was shot.
- 00:14:21.218 --> 00:14:23.888
- I'm in the bed, still fresh in the hospital.
- 00:14:23.888 --> 00:14:27.325
- God reached down,
- 00:14:27.758 --> 00:14:30.328
- Lifted me literally out of the pit
- 00:14:30.328 --> 00:14:33.831
- And said, i'm not done with you yet.
- 00:14:34.632 --> 00:14:38.336
- I still have a plan for your life.
- 00:14:39.070 --> 00:14:41.839
- I will never leave you or forsake you.
- 00:14:41.839 --> 00:14:45.042
- What you saw netanyahu, trump, stackelberg tonight on tbn.
- 00:14:45.042 --> 00:14:50.081
- You tube me standing here now.
- 00:14:50.081 --> 00:14:51.882
- It all began.
- 00:14:51.882 --> 00:14:53.217
- This whole wild journey, this whole media career
- 00:14:53.217 --> 00:14:56.220
- All began in a hospital bed
- 00:14:56.220 --> 00:14:59.790
- In northeast philadelphia, ten hours after i was shot.
- 00:14:59.790 --> 00:15:04.996
- Only god.
- 00:15:05.296 --> 00:15:07.565
- I don't believe in coincidences.
- 00:15:07.565 --> 00:15:09.500
- I don't know where you are in your life.
- 00:15:09.500 --> 00:15:11.268
- As i said at the top.
- 00:15:11.268 --> 00:15:12.737
- But if god can reach down into the pit
- 00:15:13.504 --> 00:15:16.507
- And i was in the pit and it hurt physically,
- 00:15:16.507 --> 00:15:20.044
- Spiritually, mentally in every which way,
- 00:15:20.044 --> 00:15:22.680
- If he can reach down into the pit
- 00:15:22.680 --> 00:15:24.882
- And give me that helping hand and lift me up
- 00:15:24.882 --> 00:15:28.619
- And set me on my way, he can do it for you
- 00:15:28.619 --> 00:15:32.289
- And he will do it for you.
- 00:15:32.289 --> 00:15:35.659
- I have no doubt.
- 00:15:36.060 --> 00:15:39.430
- And i see what happened to charlie a few weeks ago.
- 00:15:39.430 --> 00:15:42.566
- And i knew charlie.
- 00:15:43.034 --> 00:15:43.968
- Doctor johnson, doctor graham knew charlie.
- 00:15:43.968 --> 00:15:46.170
- He was a great man and a great man of god.
- 00:15:46.170 --> 00:15:50.007
- And i say i.
- 00:15:50.341 --> 00:15:52.043
- I'm alive.
- 00:15:52.043 --> 00:15:53.711
- Why a millimeter?
- 00:15:53.711 --> 00:15:56.013
- I know president trump asked the same thing.
- 00:15:56.013 --> 00:15:57.782
- Same deal with him.
- 00:15:57.782 --> 00:15:58.549
- Butler pa, a millimeter.
- 00:15:58.549 --> 00:16:01.685
- I don't know, but maybe i'm here today
- 00:16:01.685 --> 00:16:04.588
- Because someone in this audience had to hear this message.
- 00:16:04.588 --> 00:16:08.359
- Maybe that's why.
- 00:16:08.359 --> 00:16:10.795
- Because
- 00:16:11.028 --> 00:16:12.163
- Maybe this is going to draw someone closer to jesus.
- 00:16:12.163 --> 00:16:14.498
- Because i can tell you, i tried to do it
- 00:16:14.498 --> 00:16:17.001
- My way for years.
- 00:16:17.001 --> 00:16:20.671
- I want it now.
- 00:16:21.005 --> 00:16:22.540
- I want to do it my way.
- 00:16:22.540 --> 00:16:24.675
- I'll pray later.
- 00:16:24.675 --> 00:16:25.910
- But first, i'll do what i want to do, and i'll do it right now.
- 00:16:25.910 --> 00:16:30.881
- The concept of waiting on the lord did not exist in my life
- 00:16:30.881 --> 00:16:34.251
- At that time.
- 00:16:34.251 --> 00:16:35.853
- But then you have two near-death experiences,
- 00:16:35.853 --> 00:16:38.856
- The bat and the bullet,
- 00:16:38.856 --> 00:16:41.058
- And it kind of changes your perspective.
- 00:16:41.058 --> 00:16:43.094
- Needless to say.
- 00:16:43.094 --> 00:16:45.896
- All of a sudden,
- 00:16:45.896 --> 00:16:47.932
- I felt a sense of burning purpose.
- 00:16:47.932 --> 00:16:50.868
- I need to make the most of this.
- 00:16:50.868 --> 00:16:53.771
- God spared my life twice.
- 00:16:53.771 --> 00:16:57.108
- I can't squander this opportunity.
- 00:16:57.108 --> 00:17:00.744
- So i finally started reading the bible.
- 00:17:00.744 --> 00:17:03.781
- Imagine that.
- 00:17:03.781 --> 00:17:05.583
- Now my dad knew the bible.
- 00:17:05.583 --> 00:17:07.051
- I listened to my dad talk about the bible.
- 00:17:07.051 --> 00:17:09.220
- Tell stories about the bible.
- 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:10.955
- I never picked up a bible for myself
- 00:17:10.955 --> 00:17:13.724
- Until i was 27 years old.
- 00:17:13.724 --> 00:17:17.061
- Late bloomer.
- 00:17:17.061 --> 00:17:18.729
- But once i did, the scales fell from my eyes
- 00:17:18.729 --> 00:17:22.700
- And it all made sense. i was always scared.
- 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:24.869
- I was intimidated by the bible.
- 00:17:24.869 --> 00:17:27.004
- I don't understand it too much.
- 00:17:27.004 --> 00:17:30.574
- I asked god
- 00:17:30.908 --> 00:17:31.775
- To make it make sense and he did.
- 00:17:31.775 --> 00:17:35.012
- And it changed everything.
- 00:17:35.579 --> 00:17:37.515
- You have such an advantage.
- 00:17:37.515 --> 00:17:39.650
- Most of the students in this room, probably all of you,
- 00:17:39.650 --> 00:17:43.120
- In that you're getting bible teaching now.
- 00:17:43.120 --> 00:17:47.224
- I had to learn the hard way.
- 00:17:47.224 --> 00:17:48.759
- Literally. the school of hard knocks.
- 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:50.561
- I did it the hard way.
- 00:17:50.561 --> 00:17:52.830
- You don't have to do that.
- 00:17:52.830 --> 00:17:57.134
- He will never leave you or forsake you.
- 00:17:54.999 --> 00:18:00.638
- Never.
- 00:18:00.838 --> 00:18:01.872
- And my life is completely improbable.
- 00:18:01.872 --> 00:18:05.209
- But i owe it all to jesus.
- 00:18:05.209 --> 00:18:07.678
- I didn't know it at the time, but now i know.
- 00:18:07.678 --> 00:18:10.915
- And walking with him has been the greatest adventure
- 00:18:10.915 --> 00:18:14.585
- Of my life. none of that.
- 00:18:14.585 --> 00:18:17.221
- Nothing that you saw.
- 00:18:17.221 --> 00:18:18.789
- I'm in the room with the
- 00:18:18.789 --> 00:18:20.124
- Leader of the free world, president trump,
- 00:18:20.124 --> 00:18:22.426
- Or the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu.
- 00:18:22.426 --> 00:18:25.262
- None of it makes sense.
- 00:18:25.262 --> 00:18:27.498
- But for god.
- 00:18:27.498 --> 00:18:30.534
- Thanks again to doctor jack graham,
- 00:18:31.268 --> 00:18:32.770
- Doctor jeremiah johnston and my good friends at preston
- 00:18:32.770 --> 00:18:35.639
- Wood church for allowing me to share my story
- 00:18:35.639 --> 00:18:38.509
- At the annual biblical worldview conference.
- 00:18:38.509 --> 00:18:41.512
- Coming up, my final thoughts on
- 00:18:41.512 --> 00:18:43.214
- Nearly dying and being born again.
- 00:18:43.214 --> 00:18:46.617
- Stick around.
- 00:18:46.984 --> 00:18:52.000
- Stick around.
- 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.425
- Welcome back to stakelbeck tonight.
- 00:18:55.192 --> 00:18:56.860
- You know, when i look back at everything
- 00:18:56.860 --> 00:18:58.662
- I just shared with you the violence, the fear,
- 00:18:58.662 --> 00:19:01.799
- Those moments where life could have ended so suddenly.
- 00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:05.369
- I realized something deeply important.
- 00:19:05.369 --> 00:19:08.172
- I wasn't just spared.
- 00:19:08.172 --> 00:19:09.907
- I was called.
- 00:19:09.907 --> 00:19:11.375
- God wasn't just protecting me.
- 00:19:11.375 --> 00:19:13.344
- He was pursuing me.
- 00:19:13.344 --> 00:19:15.279
- And he's been doing the same for you.
- 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.514
- Maybe your story doesn't involve violence.
- 00:19:17.514 --> 00:19:20.317
- Maybe it's heartbreak.
- 00:19:20.317 --> 00:19:21.785
- Maybe it's addiction.
- 00:19:21.785 --> 00:19:23.220
- Maybe it's fear, depression, anxiety
- 00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:26.223
- Or a diagnosis you never saw coming.
- 00:19:26.223 --> 00:19:28.892
- Maybe it's a mistake you've carrying around for years.
- 00:19:28.892 --> 00:19:31.862
- Or a shame you've never said out loud.
- 00:19:31.862 --> 00:19:34.932
- But please hear me.
- 00:19:34.932 --> 00:19:36.367
- None of it disqualifies you from god's love.
- 00:19:36.367 --> 00:19:39.870
- Those dark places are often the very places where he meets us.
- 00:19:39.870 --> 00:19:44.375
- When that bullet hit me, i thought my story was over.
- 00:19:44.375 --> 00:19:47.578
- But god said.
- 00:19:47.578 --> 00:19:48.646
- I'm not done with you yet.
- 00:19:48.646 --> 00:19:51.282
- And, folks, he's not done with you either.
- 00:19:51.282 --> 00:19:53.350
- If you're watching this right now, it's not random.
- 00:19:53.350 --> 00:19:56.387
- It's not coincidence.
- 00:19:56.387 --> 00:19:58.122
- God is speaking. he's reaching.
- 00:19:58.122 --> 00:20:00.991
- He's calling.
- 00:20:00.991 --> 00:20:02.426
- We live in a world full of fear.
- 00:20:02.426 --> 00:20:04.295
- Fear of the future. fear for our families.
- 00:20:04.295 --> 00:20:07.097
- Fear of what's happening in our nation and around the world.
- 00:20:07.097 --> 00:20:10.934
- But fear doesn't get the last word.
- 00:20:10.934 --> 00:20:13.971
- Jesus does.
- 00:20:13.971 --> 00:20:15.539
- Jesus said, my peace i give to you.
- 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:18.242
- Not as the world gives.
- 00:20:18.242 --> 00:20:20.010
- He offers a peace the world can't touch, a peace
- 00:20:20.010 --> 00:20:23.714
- That fear can't steal, a peace that circumstances cannot shake.
- 00:20:23.714 --> 00:20:29.053
- A peace that is bulletproof.
- 00:20:29.053 --> 00:20:32.022
- You may think god can't use you.
- 00:20:32.022 --> 00:20:34.358
- You may think you've gone too far or messed up too badly.
- 00:20:34.358 --> 00:20:38.562
- But if god can pluck a guy
- 00:20:38.562 --> 00:20:40.097
- Like me out of northeast philadelphia
- 00:20:40.097 --> 00:20:42.499
- And put me face to face with presidents and prime ministers,
- 00:20:42.499 --> 00:20:46.503
- He can absolutely take your life and place you
- 00:20:46.503 --> 00:20:49.907
- In your perfect calling right where he wants you.
- 00:20:49.907 --> 00:20:53.243
- So let me ask him. do you know him?
- 00:20:53.243 --> 00:20:55.746
- Do you really know jesus?
- 00:20:55.746 --> 00:20:58.215
- Not religion. not tradition.
- 00:20:58.215 --> 00:21:00.484
- Not going through the motions.
- 00:21:00.484 --> 00:21:02.486
- I'm talking about
- 00:21:02.486 --> 00:21:03.487
- A real relationship with the living god.
- 00:21:03.487 --> 00:21:06.390
- A savior who sees you, loves you,
- 00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:09.526
- Forgives you, and has a plan for your life.
- 00:21:09.526 --> 00:21:12.863
- A savior who shed his blood for you
- 00:21:12.863 --> 00:21:15.566
- So you could have eternal life and abundant life today.
- 00:21:15.566 --> 00:21:19.903
- The bible says if anyone is in christ, he is a new creation.
- 00:21:19.903 --> 00:21:24.541
- You can become that new creation right now.
- 00:21:24.541 --> 00:21:27.811
- Your past can be forgiven.
- 00:21:27.811 --> 00:21:30.180
- Your shame can be washed away.
- 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:32.750
- Your heart can be restored.
- 00:21:32.750 --> 00:21:35.152
- And that fear that's been gripping you.
- 00:21:35.152 --> 00:21:37.388
- It can be broken in the name of jesus.
- 00:21:37.388 --> 00:21:40.924
- So if you're watching this and you feel
- 00:21:40.924 --> 00:21:42.526
- Something in your heart a tug, a pull, a stirring,
- 00:21:42.526 --> 00:21:46.397
- I want you to know that's the holy spirit.
- 00:21:46.397 --> 00:21:49.500
- Don't ignore him.
- 00:21:49.500 --> 00:21:50.801
- Don't push it aside.
- 00:21:50.801 --> 00:21:52.503
- Say yes to him.
- 00:21:52.503 --> 00:21:54.271
- Maybe you've never accepted jesus as your lord and savior.
- 00:21:54.271 --> 00:21:57.775
- Or maybe you've walked away
- 00:21:57.775 --> 00:21:59.576
- And you know it's time to come home.
- 00:21:59.576 --> 00:22:02.379
- Either way, this moment is for you.
- 00:22:02.379 --> 00:22:05.215
- So let me pray for you right now.
- 00:22:05.215 --> 00:22:07.351
- And as i pray,
- 00:22:07.351 --> 00:22:08.419
- You can repeat this in your heart or out loud,
- 00:22:08.419 --> 00:22:11.355
- Wherever you are.
- 00:22:11.355 --> 00:22:13.090
- Lord jesus, thank you for loving me.
- 00:22:13.090 --> 00:22:16.126
- Thank you for protecting me even when i didn't see it.
- 00:22:16.126 --> 00:22:19.897
- Thank you for pursuing me when i was far from you.
- 00:22:19.897 --> 00:22:23.767
- Tonight i give you my life.
- 00:22:23.767 --> 00:22:25.169
- I turn from my sin, my fear, my past.
- 00:22:25.169 --> 00:22:28.739
- And i turn toward you. forgive me.
- 00:22:28.739 --> 00:22:31.909
- Wash me clean.
- 00:22:31.909 --> 00:22:33.343
- Make me new.
- 00:22:33.343 --> 00:22:35.245
- Be my savior. be my lord.
- 00:22:35.245 --> 00:22:37.581
- Fill me with your holy spirit.
- 00:22:37.581 --> 00:22:40.217
- Give me the peace,
- 00:22:40.217 --> 00:22:41.318
- The strength and the faith that only you can give.
- 00:22:41.318 --> 00:22:45.722
- From this day forward i belong to you.
- 00:22:45.722 --> 00:22:48.392
- And i will follow you all the days of my life.
- 00:22:48.392 --> 00:22:51.495
- In jesus name, amen.
- 00:22:51.495 --> 00:22:54.631
- If you prayed that prayer.
- 00:22:54.631 --> 00:22:55.766
- I want you to know.
- 00:22:55.766 --> 00:22:56.800
- You didn't just make a decision.
- 00:22:56.800 --> 00:22:58.802
- You started a journey.
- 00:22:58.802 --> 00:23:00.571
- A journey with a god
- 00:23:00.571 --> 00:23:01.738
- Who loves you, walks with you, and will never abandon you.
- 00:23:01.738 --> 00:23:06.109
- You're not alone anymore.
- 00:23:06.109 --> 00:23:07.711
- You're not fighting this battle by yourself.
- 00:23:07.711 --> 00:23:10.681
- And with jesus by your side.
- 00:23:10.681 --> 00:23:12.549
- You can live with a faith, a confidence, a peace
- 00:23:12.549 --> 00:23:16.487
- That is truly bulletproof.
- 00:23:16.487 --> 00:23:19.556
- Until next time.
- 00:23:19.556 --> 00:23:20.491
- God bless you and we'll see you soon.
- 00:23:20.491 --> 00:23:20.491
