Participants: John Carter
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001717A
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00:01 The Carter Report presents Living Victoriously,
00:06 Secrets of Success from Prime Minister Daniel 00:08 of Babylon City with your host John Carter. 00:25 We're just really glad to have you with us today. 00:29 Welcome to the Carter Report. 00:31 And our new series, Living Victoriously, 00:36 the topic today. 00:37 And now here it is, the people's Prince 00:41 and living for a million years 00:45 just for a start. 00:49 I'm gonna take you today to the Book of Daniel 9 00:54 which is quite amazing 00:56 because it talks about the fate of Israel as a nation 01:00 and the fate of the Middle East and Jerusalem. 01:05 Now part of this prophecy 01:07 has been fulfilled thousands of years ago, 01:11 but a lot of still going to be fulfilled 01:13 we believe possibly in our own day. 01:17 This prophecy also gives us 01:20 the identity of the true Jewish Messiah, 01:25 how to identify the Jewish Messiah 01:29 because Messiah is a Jew. 01:33 Was Jesus an imposter? 01:37 Or is He the only hope of Israel 01:40 and the hope of the world? 01:44 Now Jesus said these words. 01:47 "Man shall not live by bread alone 01:49 but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." 01:56 There is a tremendous power in the Word of God 02:03 because we are spiritual beings as well as physical beings. 02:09 Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone 02:12 but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." 02:17 Beverley and I, 02:19 we were watching on the Sunday night 60 Minutes, 02:23 and they spoke about the new technology 02:26 with which we're all familiar, 02:28 cell phones, iPads 02:30 I've even been dragged into the 21st century. 02:34 My team said, they were trying to get me 02:35 into the 20th century, 02:37 but I got some of this stuff now. 02:39 Sixty Minutes said, there is evidence 02:44 that the use of this stuff becomes addictive, 02:49 and not only addictive, it's worse than that. 02:53 It breaks down the intellectual capacity of the mind 02:59 to understand truth. 03:02 And therefore, 60 Minutes basically said this, 03:06 we are breeding utter race of nervous, anxious, 03:13 brainwashed robots in America 03:17 who are easily manipulated by the press, 03:21 by politicians 03:24 and third rate entertainers. 03:30 And so we've got people 03:31 who are losing the capacity to think objectively 03:36 and therefore today, pardon my saying this, 03:40 we elect presidents and politicians and senators 03:45 on 10 second sound bites, nothing longer 03:50 because the poor old mind can't take it in any longer. 03:54 I want you to come with me on an exciting journey. 03:58 It will not be altogether easy 04:03 but immensely rewarding. 04:07 This book was written about 550 BC, the book of Daniel, 04:10 I want you to turn with me to Daniel 9, 04:13 and Daniel of course was a Jew, 04:17 Daniel was a Jew, tremendous mind, 04:21 a tremendous intellect. 04:23 As you're finding this text, 04:26 I have here a book that I recommend to every person. 04:28 Here it is. 04:30 I think I mentioned it last week, 04:32 the prophecies of Sir Isaac Newton. 04:36 Now this book was given to me a week 04:38 or so ago by one of the members 04:41 of this audience Dr. John Westerdoll 04:44 who is a scientist himself. 04:48 Without any question, 04:50 so Isaac Newton was probably the greatest scientist 04:54 in the history of the human race. 04:56 He believed that science was only possible 04:59 because we lived in a rational universe. 05:04 Now if the universe is not rational 05:06 and it was simply the product of time 05:09 plus matter plus chance, 05:11 then nothing really matters and you can't do science. 05:15 And the approach to Bible prophecy today 05:18 is not original with me, 05:20 it comes from the greatest scientist 05:23 in the history of the world Sir Isaac Newton. 05:27 Daniel 9:1 says, 05:29 "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, 05:33 of the lineage of the Medes, 05:35 who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans." 05:38 This gives us our starting point. 05:40 This is history. 05:42 This is probably the same year 05:44 when Daniel was thrown to the lions. 05:47 And in this vision, he got a glimpse of future glory. 05:51 Somebody said, 05:52 great trials and great blessings go together. 05:56 So remember, when you are having a great trial 06:00 that a big blessing is coming to you. 06:03 Now look at 06:08 Daniel 9:2. 06:14 "In the first year of his reign I, Daniel, 06:17 understood by the books the number of the years 06:20 specified by the word of the Lord 06:23 through Jeremiah the prophet, 06:25 that He would accomplish seventy years 06:29 in the desolations of Jerusalem." 06:34 Now this text in itself is a bit of a wake up call 06:38 because wasn't this the city of the great king. 06:43 Wasn't this called the Holy city 06:46 and yet the city was laid desolate, 06:49 history tells me for seventy years. 06:52 What happened to Jerusalem? 06:54 It is talking about 06:56 the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem 06:59 that took place about 600 BC. 07:02 Now if you take your Bible, 07:04 and if you turn to this lengthy passage 07:06 which we are going to read, Daniel 9:3-11, 07:11 Daniel 9:3-11. 07:15 He starts to pray, 07:16 "Then I set my face towards the Lord God to make request 07:19 by prayer and supplications, with fasting, 07:22 sackcloth, and ashes. 07:24 And I prayed to the Lord my God, 07:26 and made confession, and said, 'O Lord, great, awesome God, 07:30 who keeps His covenant and mercy 07:32 with those who love Him, 07:33 and with those who keep His commandments, 07:37 we have sinned and committed iniquity, 07:41 we have done wickedly and rebelled, 07:43 even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 07:46 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, 07:50 who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, 07:53 to our fathers and to all the people of the land. 07:56 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, 08:01 but to us shame of face, 08:03 as it is this day to the men of Judah, 08:05 to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, 08:09 those near and those far off in all the countries 08:13 to which You have driven them, 08:15 because of the unfaithfulness 08:18 which they have committed against You. 08:21 'O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, 08:24 to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, 08:28 because we have sinned against You. 08:31 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, 08:35 though we have rebelled against Him. 08:37 We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, 08:41 to walk in His laws, 08:42 which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 08:46 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, 08:50 and has departed so as not to obey Your voice, 08:53 therefore the curse and the oath 08:57 written in the Law of Moses the servant of God...' 09:01 "This curse, holy things, 09:03 "They have been poured out on us, 09:05 because we have sinned against Him." 09:08 Sort of a wake up call to America, 09:10 also wake up call to the world. 09:14 Jerusalem was destroyed not because God was in a bad mood 09:20 and because God is petulant. 09:22 The Bible tells me, the city of the Jewish people, 09:27 the chosen people of God was destroyed 09:31 because of their rebellion against the Word of God. 09:35 Now notice Daniel 9:12-17, 09:41 "He has confirmed His words, 09:42 which He spoke against us 09:44 and against our judges who judged us, 09:46 by bringing upon us a great disaster. 09:50 For under the whole heaven such has never been done 09:53 as what has been done to Jerusalem. 09:56 As it is written in the Law of Moses, 09:59 all this disaster has come upon us. 10:02 Yet we have not made our prayer 10:03 before the Lord our God, 10:05 that we might turn from our iniquities 10:07 and understand Your truth. 10:09 Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, 10:12 and brought it upon us. 10:15 For the Lord our God is righteous in all the works 10:18 which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. 10:22 And now, O Lord our God, 10:24 who brought Your people up out of the land of Egypt 10:28 with a mighty hand, 10:30 and made Yourself a name, 10:32 as it is this day we have sinned, 10:36 we have done wickedly! 10:38 'O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, 10:40 I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away 10:44 from Your city Jerusalem, 10:46 Your holy mountain, because for our sins, 10:50 and for the iniquities of our fathers, 10:53 Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach 10:57 to all those around us. 10:59 Now therefore, O God, hear the prayer of Your servant, 11:04 and his supplications, 11:05 and for the Lord's sake cause Your face 11:10 to shine on Your sanctuary, 11:14 which is desolate." 11:18 There is no doubt about it. 11:21 Jerusalem, the home of the remnant people, 11:27 the home of the greatest religionist 11:32 in the history of the world 11:34 was desolated because of sin. 11:40 Now one of my favorite preachers 11:43 in this great land of United States of America 11:45 is Dr. Charles Stanley, heard him say recently, 11:49 God does not send plagues or disasters upon His people. 11:56 You know, what He does? 11:57 Those plagues are there all the time, 12:00 ready to come down. 12:01 God has His hand stretched over His people 12:05 and if God removes His hand of protection, 12:11 the disasters come. 12:14 Now, he pointed out something came home to my heart. 12:19 I'm gonna talk to you about it. 12:22 In 1941, 12:25 America was not ready for World War II. 12:31 We were attacked at Pearl Harbor 12:34 in a Day of Infamy. 12:40 But God in spite of everything had His hand over America 12:45 because when the Japanese came against our fleet, 12:51 our aircraft carriers were not in Pearl Harbor. 12:56 If they had been in Pearl Harbor, 12:59 the Japanese would have invaded California 13:03 because we would have had nothing left 13:06 but the aircraft carriers were at a sea 13:11 and they drove back 13:15 imperial forces of the Japanese. 13:20 God had His hand over America. 13:24 Now in 1939, 13:27 Great Britain was not ready for the war. 13:32 But there was a young man they said, 13:37 the government leaders will always know 13:38 everything about nothing. 13:40 They said, this plane that you are designing 13:44 is going to be a fizz. 13:49 But he said, I've been to Germany 13:52 and I know that the Germans, 13:55 the Nazis are coming, he designed the Spitfire. 14:00 He worked all day, all night just a young married man, 14:03 his wife said, you've got to stop this. 14:05 Got a doctor, the doctor said, you can live to be 70, or 80, 14:10 or 90 but you've got to stop working 24 hours a day. 14:13 He said, if I stop we won't be ready. 14:19 Just before he died, 14:20 the first Spitfire took to the air, 14:23 it was the Spitfire manned by these young men 14:29 of 18 and 19 and 20 14:32 who drove the Nazis from the skies. 14:38 Now, I want you to know something. 14:43 England wasn't ready for the onslaught of the Germans 14:48 but God was. 14:51 God had His hand over Great Britain. 14:54 But why had God removed His hand 14:57 from His chosen people back there in 600 BC? 15:01 For at least four acts of rebellion. 15:05 Number one, because the children of God, 15:08 the Jewish people were guilty of idolatry. 15:12 The Bible says, we shall only worship 15:16 the great God of the Bible Yahweh Elohim. 15:21 But the children of Israel had engaged in idolatry. 15:26 Do you think God is Father Christmas 15:28 who has gone to sleep, an absentee landlord? 15:32 You think God is blind? 15:35 Number two, because of the desecration 15:39 of the holy Sabbath that we call the Lord's Day. 15:43 Jeremiah 17:27, look at this. 15:49 "But if you do not heed to hallow My Sabbath day, 15:52 such as not carrying a burden 15:55 when entering the gates of Jerusalem 15:57 on the Sabbath day, 15:58 then I will kindle a fire in the gates, 16:01 and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, 16:05 and it shall not be quenched." 16:08 It was because the people of God desecrated the Sabbath. 16:13 People say, "The Sabbath is nothing." 16:17 Some but God says. 16:20 Karl Barth was probably the greatest theologian 16:22 of the 20th century, great German theologian. 16:26 In one of his great books 16:29 that I've read is this quotation, 16:32 "When the holy day becomes the day of man, 16:34 society and humanity wither away and the demons rule." 16:40 And today, in America the Sabbath is desecrated. 16:49 It is because the people of God broke the Sabbath, 16:53 the Jerusalem was destroyed. 16:55 Number three, because of marriage desecration 17:01 and fornication and unholy sexual practices. 17:11 The Bible tells us, Jerusalem was destroyed idolatry, 17:16 Sabbath desecration 17:20 and perverted sexual practices. 17:27 Of course, we are different today, 17:30 aren't we? 17:32 Sin number four, the oppression of the poor, 17:37 the oppression of the poor. 17:40 Look at Ezekiel 16:49, Ezekiel 16:49. 17:45 "Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom," 17:50 God says to the Jewish people back there, 17:53 "She and her daughter had pride, 17:57 fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness, 18:02 neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor 18:06 and the needy." 18:09 And so the people were grounded into the dust. 18:15 I guess they ground them down 18:18 with long hours and low wages. 18:26 And, of course, we would never do that today. 18:30 The oppression of the poor 18:33 where people live in the wealthiest country 18:37 in the world and they're virtually reduced 18:40 to their state of slavery. 18:51 I think it was Jefferson who said, 18:53 "I tremble for my country when I think that God is just, 18:58 justice cannot sleep forever." 19:04 So idolatry, Sabbath desecration, 19:07 marriage desecration, and holy sexual practices, 19:11 and the oppression of the poor, 19:14 so God removed His hand. 19:20 Here are some powerful truths. 19:22 God is watching us. 19:25 Oh, no. 19:28 God can't see in the dark. 19:31 God is watching us. 19:33 God keeps His word and God is very healthy. 19:39 Sin hurts people, children, wives, husbands, nations, 19:45 did you know that the word evil 19:48 is live spelled backwards, 19:52 and when you practice evil, 19:56 you do away with living. 20:01 It is clear in the Bible 20:03 that God will bless and protect His chosen people 20:05 when they are faithful and obedient. 20:10 But the Bible tells me these people were the chosen people, 20:13 don't make any doubt about it, 20:15 the Jewish people were the chosen people, 20:19 the apple of Jehovah's eye, 20:23 that didn't save them. 20:26 The Babylonians came. 20:30 Seventy years, 20:32 Jerusalem was destroyed. 20:38 Now in exegesis which is so well explained 20:43 by Sir Isaac Newton. 20:45 I want to say this to the unbelievers 20:47 who may be watching, 20:49 the atheists who are unbelieving. 20:51 The people who say, you can't be a believer 20:53 and be a Christian. 20:55 Says who? Says who? 21:00 Perhaps the greatest scientists around today Francis Collins, 21:07 one who gave us the book "The Language of God" 21:10 who worked at the Human Genome Project, 21:14 devout follower of Christ in the Bible. 21:18 And this man Sir Isaac Newton, 21:21 he's probably the greatest scientist 21:23 in the history of the world. 21:25 And of my exegesis today is somewhat 21:27 taken from Sir Isaac Newton, 21:32 this great scientist. 21:35 Now please notice, Daniel 9:18 and 19, 21:40 my friend, Daniel 9:18 and 19. 21:46 And the text tells us something here 21:49 and I'm going to just summarize it a little bit 21:52 from the text. 21:54 It says, "Not because of our righteous deeds, 21:59 but because of His great mercy." 22:03 So Daniel says, "God, please forgive our sins, 22:07 not because of our righteous deeds." 22:10 Have you ever met a person that says, 22:12 "I never confessed my sins. 22:17 I don't confess my sins. 22:18 I don't need to confess my sins." 22:21 That person is so far from God. 22:25 Walking in such blindness stupidity and pride 22:31 because the Bible tells us, 22:32 we can never be saved by our righteous deeds 22:38 because we haven't got any. 22:44 We are all sinners, we are all alike sinners 22:49 but not all sinners are alike. 22:55 So here you got the gospel, 22:57 not because of our righteous deeds 23:00 but because of His great mercy. 23:06 That's the gospel in the Old Testament. 23:08 I meet people who say, 23:09 there is no gospel in the Old Testament, 23:11 they say that because they've never read it. 23:15 Now you will know this great text Ephesians 2:8, 23:19 Ephesians 2, 23:20 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 23:23 that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." 23:28 Salvation cannot be earned, 23:31 it is a gratuitous 23:35 mercy of God. 23:39 Now another great Englishman, of course, 23:41 was John Newton who had been the captain of a slave ship, 23:47 he went down about as low as you can get. 23:52 But he found Christ 23:54 largely through the preaching of those firebrands, 23:58 the Wesley brothers in England 24:00 and Newton became a Church of England minister, 24:04 the great Church of England. 24:06 Some have said, "The mother of us all." 24:10 And he wrote these words, you know them. 24:14 Great English hymn, "Amazing grace' 24:17 How sweet the sound that saved the wretch like me! 24:20 I once was lost but now I am found, 24:23 was blind, but now I see. 24:26 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, 24:28 and grace my fears relieved. 24:32 How precious did that grace appear, 24:35 the hour I first believed. 24:38 Through many dangers, 24:40 toils and snares, I have already come. 24:44 'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, 24:47 grace will lead me home. 24:51 When we've been there ten thousand years 24:55 bright shining as the sun. 24:58 We've no less days to sing God's praise 25:03 than when we'd first begun." 25:07 Amen. 25:08 So listen, if you feel you're not good enough, 25:13 that's good because you're not. 25:19 I'm not good enough. 25:21 The pope's not good enough, 25:25 the preacher's not good enough, 25:27 the president's not good enough. 25:30 No one is good enough but Jesus is good enough. 25:34 Amen. 25:35 And if you believe, if you believe in this great grace, 25:41 what the great grace did 25:44 for the captain of a slave ship. 25:47 This man who himself became a slave of slaves. 25:54 This grace will do for you, and grace will lead you home. 26:01 Now soon I'm going to talk 26:04 about the fate of Jerusalem today. 26:09 Stay with us. 26:21 Hello, friend, I'm John Carter. 26:24 By the grace of God I'm going back to Russia. 26:27 I've been to the lands of the old Soviet Union 47 times, 26:32 that's in the last 25, 26 years. 26:35 We're planning to go to the city of Nizhny Novgorod 26:40 or the old Russian city of Gorky 26:43 made famous by the poet Gorky. 26:46 We're going there because 25 years ago, 26:49 we ran a great campaign in Nizhny Novgorod 26:53 and we saw 2,530 souls, 26:58 2,530 Russians, communists, 27:01 atheists all sorts of unbelief baptized into Christ 27:06 in the Volga River. 27:08 We're going back because the need is enormous 27:12 and because the Russians are saying, 27:13 please come and help us. 27:16 Freedom is disappearing in Putin's Russia. 27:21 It's almost impossible now to hire an auditorium, 27:23 almost impossible to preach the gospel. 27:27 And so by the grace of God, 27:29 we are applying for special missionary visas. 27:32 Are we going to get them? 27:34 We think so, by the grace of God, 27:36 and we're going to advertise by the grace of God 27:39 on television and on radio. 27:41 Please write to me, I've got to raise $250,000 now. 27:48 Please write to me, John Carter, PO Box 1900, 27:52 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 27:55 In Australia, write to the address 27:57 now appearing on the screen. 28:00 This could be Russia's last opportunity, 28:03 please write to me. 28:05 I ask you in the name of God, 28:07 write to me today and pray for Russia. 28:11 Thank you and God bless you. 28:23 For a copy of today's program, 28:25 please contact us at PO Box 1900, 28:28 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 28:32 Or in Australia, contact us at PO Box 861, 28:38 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:42 This program is made possible 28:44 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:47 We thank you for your continued support. 28:50 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2017-08-14