(warm instrumental music)- Welcome folks.

I want to do somethingdifferent today on this program.

I want to start with somethingthat's very important to you.

The Lord Jesus said thespirit of the Lord is upon me

because He's anointed me tobind up the brokenhearted.

And I'm thinking todayabout how many there are

in this audience who are brokenhearted.

I think of those who'velost husbands and wives

because of this COVID.

They have seen their loved ones die.

I think of those whohave lost husbands, wives

and then mothers orfathers because of COVID.

They have died and they'rebrokenhearted because of it.

And I think of the nurses thatare in the emergency room.

You have worked so hard, you're exhausted.

And day after day, eventhough you've done everything

you could, you've seen your patients die

and they're dying by the hundreds

and you are brokenhearted,you don't know what to do.

I've done everything I can, I'm exhausted,

and yet these people are still dying.

And I think of those ofyou who have businesses

and you who have investedall of your life savings,

your money, your time, your work

in these restaurants orthese businesses you've had.

And you have your dreamswrapped up in them.

And all of a sudden this, they locked down

and customers can't come andthere's a COVID epidemic.

And you are brokenheartedbecause you have no opportunity.

And I think of those ofyou who are out of work,

and there are millions of youright now in this audience

who don't have jobs, andyou had a pretty good life

and you thought thingswere going to go all right.

And suddenly you are broke

and you are crying outand you're brokenhearted.

And I think of those who are,well, husbands and wives.

You've come to the end of the year

and the wife says to the husband,I don't love you anymore.

I want a divorce.

Or husband says to the wife,I don't love you anymore.

I want a divorce and I want out

and you are brokenheartedbecause he's somebody you loved.

And some of you kids watching,

I know they call it puppylove, but I tell you,

if you've proposed marriage to somebody

and the person looks at youand say, you're a nice guy,

but I don't love you,you're brokenhearted.

And the Lord said, I have cometo bind up the brokenhearted

and God knows your need.

He knows your suffering and He's with you.

And he's not going to let this pandemic

or any of the otherthings take away His love.

He loves you.

And that's what I wanted to tell you,

that God is here to healup the brokenhearted.

And I'm also thinkingabout young athletes.

You work so hard.

I mean, I know what it'slike to go in the gym

and really pump it hard.

And you've worked as hard as you could.

You've run and you've swum andyou've done all the things.

You've done your gymnasticsand you were hoping to go

to the Olympics and nowthe Olympics are canceled

and there's no future inthe athletic arena for you

and you're brokenhearted.

And I think of parentswho watched their children

that they invested so much hope in

and the children have taken fentanyl,

or they've taken one of these opioids

or they're hooked on cocaine or crack,

or one of the other drugsthat have come along

and they've seen that sonor daughter just waste away.

And they looked and this ismy child that I love so much

and they're gone and you're brokenhearted.

Right now, I want to pray for you.

I want to start thisprogram and just tell you,

God knows you're suffering.

He's with you despite these things.

And He is here to bindup the brokenhearted

at this Christmastime.

And Father, we come beforeYou and we lift before You

those in this audiencewho are brokenhearted.

Their dreams are shattered.

Their lives are taken away.

Their loved ones have died.

They themselves have lost the hopes

and dreams and they're shattered.

And Lord, I pray right now for them.

You said You've come tobind up the brokenhearted.

And even as we start thisprogram, would you please

bind up the brokenheartedin this audience.

Lord, I thank You that You arethe God of hope and dreams.

Thank You, Lord in Jesus' name, thank you.

- [Wendy] Amen.

- And, well...

- That was a beautiful prayer.

And so many people need that right now.

Pat, thank you so much, wow.

- Well, I mean, I just felt so strong.

You know, the Bee Geeshad a number one song

a few years ago called HowDo You Heal a Broken Heart?

And you know, people,

their hearts are broken and God knows it.

He said, I have come to healand bind up the brokenhearted.

So please at this Christmastime

rather than singing allthese happy, jolly things,

you know it's phony andyour heart is breaking.

God knows it, and He's going to bind it up

if you just turn it over to Him right now.

- Amen, that's one of myfavorite verses in all the Bible.

When I was going throughmy own heartbreak,

God is near the brokenhearted.- That's right.

- And right before that, it says,

He knows all the stars by name.

I thought, okay, Lord, youknow, all the stars by name

then you also know howbroken my heart is right now.

- That's right, well,there's so many right now

who are suffering, I mean, this pandemic

has just killed people'shopes, their dreams,

their aspirations, and their lives.

And God knows you're suffering, all right?

Well, turning to the news,

not nearly enough tohelp hurting Americans.

President Trump evisceratedthe COVID relief bill

calling the $600 perAmerican, "ridiculously low."

He also really ridiculed themoney for foreign countries,

lobbyists, and special interest groups,

as well as the bill'spolitical pork at home.

Well, you know what he can doif he just does a pocket veto

if he will not sign itbefore Congress adjourns,

then the bill will die and it should die.

You know the old linehere, we've got to pass it

so we can understand what's in it.

Hundreds of pages of pork inthis gigantic monstrosity.

Heather Sells explains.(logo swooshing)

- [Heather] Tuesday night thePresident unleashed his attack

on the bill with a Twittervideo criticizing it

for not doing enough to help Americans.

- Congress found plenty ofmoney for foreign countries,

lobbyists, and special interests

while sending the bare minimum

to the American people who need it.

It's called the COVID relief bill,

but it has almostnothing to do with COVID.

This bill contains $85.5 millionfor assistance to Cambodia,

$134 million to Burma,$1.3 billion for Egypt.

- [Heather] The president also went after

the bill's political pork at home,

including 40 millionfor the Kennedy Center

and 154 million for theNational Gallery of Art.

And he said the bill's stimulus checks,

600 per individual, are not enough.

- I am asking Congress to amend this bill

and increase the ridiculously low $600

to $2,000 or $4,000 for a couple.

- [Heather] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

quickly tweeted her supportfor the 2,000 number

as did Senator Bernie Sanders.

The President's announcementcomes after months

of congressionalstalemate on COVID relief,

followed by the package'squick introduction Monday

and overwhelming support in both houses.

- The American peoplehave waited long enough.

- [Heather] But fiscalconservatives like Senator Rand Paul

said Americans can'tafford to add 2.5 trillion

to the nation's $27 trillion debt.

- If free money were the answer,

if money really grew on trees,why not give more free money?

Why not give it out all the time?

Why stop at $600 a person?

Why not $1,000?

Why not $2,000?

- [Heather] President-electBiden applauded the bill

and promised more stimulus next year.

- We're gonna need to makesure that we're in a position

that we can provide forthe opportunity for people

to begin to go back towork and get new jobs.

- [Heather] The presidentdid not specifically vow

to veto the bill but because it's attached

to a broader funding measure,

the government will shut downon December 29th without it.

Heather Sells, CBN news.

- You remember that famous statement,

we've got to pass the billso we can see what's in it?

The Congress hasn't had achance to read this thing.

It is a monstrosity.

Listen, I'll give you some other examples

of wasteful spending in this bill.

101 million to combatthe transnational threat

of wildlife poaching.

250 million over five yearsfor Palestinian economic aid.

15 billion for grants tolive entertainment venues

such as Broadway.

And this is the kicker, $10 million

for gender programs in Pakistan.

Folks, it isn't their money,it's yours they're wasting.

And it's just horrible.

Our children and grandchildrenwill be in debt forever.

And what I see down theroad, without question

there's going to be an attemptto grab your money, you know,

like they did in Cypruswhere they actually came in

and took them about 1/3 ofthe people's bank accounts.

They may have given some phonygovernment bonds in exchange

but I think that's what's going to happen

because something'sgoing to have to be done.

And all that moneysitting in bank accounts

and in IRAs and 401ks and all that,

this bunch is going to wantto take it away from you.

So you mark my word, this has got to be,

but they can't keepwasting money this way.

This is insanity, insanity.

What is wrong with those people?

You know, you want toact like it's your money.

It's not, it isn't your money,

but that's what theysay socialism will stop.

As long as this, it'llcontinue, I should say

as long as it's somebody else's money

they can pocket, they can pick.

But in other news, morepolitical chaos in Israel

after the government collapsed overnight.

George Thomas has morefrom the CBN Newsroom.

- Pat speaking of insanity, forthe fourth time in two years

Israelis are headingto national elections.

The so-called coalition government

fell apart after months of disagreement.

CBN Middle Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell

explains what happened.

(logo swooshing)

- [Chris] The Knesset wasdissolved automatically

at midnight after the deadlineexpired to pass a 2020 budget

or a bill to extend that deadline.

- [Translator] We need to say

that we're in a complicated period

with multiple challengeswith multiple conflicts.

It appears to me that there is not an end

of the conflicts in the public

and also naturally in this building.

- [Chris] During the last seven months,

the short-lived coalitionbetween Israeli prime minister

Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party

and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz's

Blue and White Party was plaguedby mistrust and infighting.

- [Translator] To my great sorrow,

we couldn't find enough in common

in order to prevent another election.

And in order to allow the 23rd Knesset

and its members to realize themandate that was given to us.

- [Chris] Earlier Netanyahuand Gantz blamed each other

for the government collapse.

- [Translator] Apparently Blue and White,

including it's people whowere going to vote here

are going to drag us intounnecessary elections.

I want to tell you that I'mnot afraid of elections.

We're prepared for that.

We will win.

- [Translator] I had no illusionsin regards with Netanyahu.

I knew his record as aserial promise violator.

- [Chris] The upcoming elections

are scheduled for March 23rd.

According to opinion polls,Likud will still have a lead

over other parties, butGideon Sa'ar's New Hope Party

and Naftali Bennett's JewishHome party will also draw

a large following from the right.

Those polls show Gantz as the big loser

with his Blue and White Partywinning just five to six seats

in the 120-member Knesset.

Adding another twist,Netanyahu's corruption trial

is set to begin afterthe first of the year.

With a possible thirdCOVID lockdown on the way

and all the mudslinging,analysts say this could be

the toughest electionIsrael has ever seen.

- Well, Chris joins us now from Jerusalem

for more on the political upheaval.

Listen, how has thatpolitical landscape changed?

And what does this mean for Netanyahu?

- Well, Pat, right now wejust mentioned in that report

two rising stars, first onGideon Sa'ar and Naftali Bennett.

Sa'ar left the Likud, Netanyahu's party.

He's forming his own party,it's called New Hope.

And yet he's taking severalLikud members with him,

and that's very significant.

He's very popular.

He's pulling up to about20 seats right now.

And the other challengerright now is Bennett.

And he's risen dramatically in the polls.

He's nearly doubled his seats

in the polls to about 15 seats.

He's very popular, Pat,with small businesses

because he supported themduring the coronavirus pandemic.

So both these challengersare on the right,

and now Sa'ar says, he's notgoing to serve with Netanyahu.

on the other hand, Bennett and Netanyahu,

they're at odds as well.

So Netanyahu really facesa challenge from the right,

and what might their strategy be?

They might try to form agovernment without Netanyahu.

So that's a possible challengeto Netanyahu, but we know

that Israel right now isstill a right-wing country.

Netanyahu's Likud isstill the strongest party.

So Pat, we'll have to waitand watch to see what happens.

- Well, how about theprime minister's trial?

Is that going to affect the election?

- Well you know, some peoplesay it's already been a concern

in the past three elections.

He's been indicted now.

He does face that trialprobably in February,

but it doesn't seem to havebeen having a major impact.

It's sort of baked into

what the voters are saying right now.

The big difference, Pat,will be that he's actually

going to be in the courtroomduring the campaign.

And that might make adifference when they see him

on the campaign trail andthen see him in the court.

But he can point to two bigachievements for Israelis.

And I think that's going to have an impact

on the election as well.

First of all, the Abraham Accords

have had a huge impact here.

They see the benefits of tourism

and trade with many ofthese Arab countries.

It's really one of thefew countries in the world

that can claim their geopoliticalgains during the pandemic.

And also he's been ableto acquire millions

of doses of the vaccine.

So that's another plusfor Netanyahu, but Pat,

believe it or not, there's some pundits

that are already wondering

because of the fracturedpolitical landscape,

that's here in Israel rightnow that Israel might go

to a fifth election sometimenext August, believe it or not.

- Chris, one last question.

You know, I look at prophecy, Ezekiel 38,

and I see what's happened to Erdogan.

He is making real badovertures against Israel,

and there seems to be a coalitionof a radical Muslim states

that really want to come,

and I'm sure Iran wantsto do away with Israel.

When they are as fracturedas it looks like,

do you think, is there any possibility

that these enemies might decide, okay

Israel is too weak for usand we'll go after them?

- Well, it's certainly a possibility, Pat,

because Israel is certainlypolitically afraid right now

and vulnerable and will befor the next several months.

There will be a transitional government.

Netanyahu will remain as prime minister.

But as you say, Erdogan really

is making bold steps against Israel.

In fact, one of hismain journalistic papers

just a few weeks ago saidthat Jerusalem is ours.

We've talked about thatbefore with Erdogan.

He claims Jerusalem as his own.

He wants to target the Al-Aqsa Mosque

here on the temple Mount so who knows,

there could be a coalitionbetween Turkey and Iran.

Certainly they have a mutual goal

of destroying the Jewish state.

And that would be a fulfillment

of what Ezekiel saidabout 2,500 years ago.

- [Pat] That's right.

- And I said, we'll haveto wait and to watch

to see what happens.- We'll have to wait.

Thank you.- But certainly a time

to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem.

- It really is.

Well, folks, as I told youbefore, you keep your eyes

on what's going on becauseAmerica is weakened.

We have an interregnum, we havekind of like two presidents.

So we have fights going on

and the head of our Defense Department

is not there in office,at least this transition

and so who knows whether these dictators

will decide now's the chance.

But you know, at thebeginning of the year,

I felt that Trump wasgoing to be tested sorely.

The first thing that has tested them

is this attack on our infrastructure.

This has been an incredible,it's clearly an act of war.

Trump's trying to say, well,it's really the Chinese,

but no, it isn't theChinese, it's the Russians.

And they've gone after us.

But you've got, you know, theNorth Koreans making noise.

You've got the peoplein ISIS reorganizing.

You've got Iran trying to close off

some of those violent waterways.

There's no question that as we get weaker,

Israel is one of our dear friends,

as these people get weaker,

it will embolden these otherpeople to try to test us.

And there's no doubt this attack we've had

on our infrastructure, this blatant attack

is just the opening gunof a long series of tests

against an interregnum in America, George.

- Pat, investigators saythe Islamic Republic of Iran

was behind a website targetingfederal and state officials

who discredited presidentTrump's claims of election fraud.

The website called Enemiesof the People featured images

and home addresses ofmore than a dozen people,

including FBI Director Christopher Wray

and former Homeland SecurityOfficial Christopher Krebs.

Krebs has publicly stated thatthe election was not stolen.

The FBI says Iran hassought to divide our country

and undermine our institutionssince before the election,

including sending threatening emails

to Democratic voters underthe guise of far-right groups.

Last night, PresidentTrump pardoned 15 people

and commuted the sentences of five others.

The pardons included allies

caught up in the Russia investigation

such as George Papadopoulos

who was Trump's 2016 campaign advisor

and two former Republican Congressmen,

Duncan Hunter of California

who pleaded guilty tomisusing campaign funds.

And lastly, Chris Collins of New York

who was convicted of insider trading.

The President also pardoned four men,

private security contractors,convicted of killing more

than a dozen Iraqi civiliansin Baghdad back in 2007.

Pat, as the song goes, theweather outside is frightful.

Thunderstorms and snow areheaded for the Northeast

this Christmas, tomorrow heavyrain and potential flooding

from Northern Virginiaup through Massachusetts

followed by heavy winds andthen a burst of cold air

that will bring snow to partsof the area on Christmas day.

Unfortunately for us folks herein the Southeastern quadrant

of our state of Virginia, no snow, Pat.

- Can't have a whiteChristmas, doesn't matter,

but it was cold and it was 31 degrees.

It's a little bit warmer now,

but we're still not having any snow.

Up in New York State ishuge amounts of snow.

- I love snow.- Yeah, I do, too.

- It's so hard to seeit every year from here.

- Yeah, I want somesnow, I like snow, okay.