Sid: I’ve got a Jewish man on the telephone oh is he red hot for the Messiah he’s come from such a good Orthodox traditional home. His whole life he’s spent in Yeshiva that’s a Jewish education he even studied in Yeshiva in Israel. He graduated from Yeshiva University in the United States and he became the better known motivational speakers in the world he spoke before stadiums with 80,000 people. He had a bestselling book, he had a wonderful home in Hawaii everything was going wonderful and one day his wife who was raised in a Christian home said to him “Peter we should thank Jesus for all of our blessings.” And he told her “You shouldn’t thank Jesus you should thank me Peter!” because he was into a religion of humanism at this point of “I can do anything.” And his life fell apart and he was offered a job in the United States he was in Hawaii at the time and offered a job in the United States at a high-tech marketing company. He made more money than anyone could ever spend in a lifetime and it would be quick. But he found out very quickly that this company wasn’t what it was reported to be and he withdrew but he found out that the Federal Trade Commission had sued him an $85 million lawsuit. You move from his great mansion in Hawaii to a 2 bedroom apartment in Dallas, Texas. The legal fees took away everything. At that point did you connect when you said “Don’t thank Jesus thank me that had something to do with the plug being pulled Peter?
Peter: Oh definitely not, not at the beginning I just thought “This is something that I’ll be able to take care of and this will go away pretty quickly and I’ll deal with it.”
Sid: At what point did you realize that you bumped into your first crisis that all of your books and all of your speaking all of your religion of humanism could not help.
Peter: Well you know it’s interesting that at some point and I can’t tell you exactly when it was a couple of months into it and remember I’d been preaching around the world positive thinking. You know this is something I could handle I teach this stuff. What I realized is the difference between positive thinking and faith positive thinking hits the wall when you’re sued for $85 million by the government (Laughing) that’s when I realized. And I hit a point Sid where this is not like me at all where I reached a point of total desperation. My reputation was gone and of course I’m fast forwarding this is a couple of months the money’s gone, my reputations gone, the work is gone and I’m inconsolable inconsolable. My wife never stopped having faith, she never doubted for a minute that everything would be okay, but my reaction to her positiveness for a lack of a better word was even more desperation and even more anger and even more frustration. Because I just didn’t get it I couldn’t image why somebody would be positive in this situation.
Sid: But you taught this your whole Peter!
Peter: I know that’s what my wife used to say you know (Laughing.)
Sid: Positive thinking is wonderful until you bump into your first crisis.
Peter: Yeah and it can even get you though some of them but it couldn’t get me though this one and that’s for sure.
Sid: Okay there’s a 2 week period where you could not sleep.
Peter: Yeah and now literally for 2 straight weeks I could not sleep. And so now on top of the mental, the psychological trauma now physically my body is turning into a wreck which of course compounds the mental aspects. I am a complete and total wreck.
Sid: I mean you literally I’ve read about this as an adult you would curl up in a fetal position and just weep.
Peter: Yup there was no way to consol me I didn’t see a way out.
Sid: What about suicide?
Peter: Well I started having those thoughts that now that I’ve spoken with so many people I’ve seen that a lot of men have had them at some point and I start realizing, not thinking, but knowing that I’m worth more to my family dead than I am alive. But of course there’s a challenge with that they couldn’t collect the insurance money if it’s a suicide.
Sid: You were in a real impossible situation. Imagine that Mishpochah owing $85 million being no way of getting out. And not sleeping how could a human even do that you couldn’t sleep for about 2 weeks?
Peter: Yeah yeah it was a time of my life and I could not have ever anticipated any of this happening.
Sid: Tell me your worst night?
Peter: Well the worst night was really the night before the last. I reached what I now consider a beautiful day it was that point it’s over tomorrow. Total and complete despair with no way out I had already contemplated I had creatively imagined a way where I could make it look natural so that my family would be able to live well. And I knew that there was no tomorrow, I just knew it. And I don’t know Sid I don’t know to this day I don’t know what cause me to do what I’m about to tell you I did perhaps it was the 3 years of constant prayers by my wife and her family, but when I knew that there was no tomorrow feeling absolutely torn no way out before bed I knew that if I didn’t sleep this night it was over in the morning I knew it. But I got down on my knees and until this day I never got down on my knees Jews don’t do that but I got down on my knees and I said “Jesus if You’re real now’s the time to show me because I need help and there’s not going to be a tomorrow.” And amazing thing Sid isn’t just that I slept through the night which I did which was a miracle in itself but the real amazing thing was that I woke up knowing it was fine. Knowing it was all going to be over that my life was no longer my own I didn’t have to carry this burden…
Sid: But wait wait you still owe that money!
Peter: Supernaturally I didn’t have to worry about it I gave it up it did not matter it just didn’t matter. All of a sudden I had a peace in me that was way beyond my natural circumstances. I had a peace in me that was not affected by what was going on me not in this world.
Sid: Why did you pray to Jesus?
Peter: That’s a great question I have to answer it by saying it was:
- Out of desperation, but
- It was all of those people who had been praying for me.
Sid: Okay wonderful you have all of this wonderful shalom, this wonderful peace, but you still owe $85 million.
Peter: Yeah but and it didn’t really make sense to anybody around me how I could be so peaceful but I just knew and I did not worry about it. And I’ll fast forward to towards the end of the story.
Sid: Please.
Peter: And now I’m about ready to have my deposition we get in there they question me the Federal Trade Commission attorney’s question me for 8 solid hours. I’m fine there’s no anxiety what so ever the day after the deposition they call my attorneys and say “Listen we’re willing to settle the case for zero dollars.” I remember I was in the Phoenix airport when I got the call from my attorney’s and right then I just wanted to drop on the floor and just “Thank you God!” I’d never imaged the direct hand of God on my life like it was then because there’s no natural explanation.
Sid: You know the missing thing in the Yeshiva was Jesus.
Peter: That’s exactly right and now I know it and now I realize it like my family like everything with all of the different things that have gone wrong naturally we had never been closer. We’ve never had more joy in our lives than we do now but it gets better every day.
Sid: But you were raised your whole life not to believe Jesus is the Messiah. You explain that reaction when your wife said “Let’s thank Jesus for our blessings.” How could you make such a switch?
Peter: Obviously I couldn’t do it by myself. It was not something that I would make a conscious decision and emotionally I just switch. It was just this beautiful all-encompassing knowing, just knowing. Then I was still a challenge that I could be Jew and still be a committed Jew and accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. Now that’s something I worked out and loved tremendously.
Sid: You know Peter in my opinion and I believe that the Spirit of God and the word of God says this there’s going to be such an outpouring of God’s Spirit on Jewish people….
Tags: It's Supernatural, Sid Roth