Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001725A
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00:01 I am John Carter in Moscow.
00:02 Now in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. 00:04 I am John Carter in Petra. 00:06 Reporting from India. 00:08 In Colombia. 00:09 I am John Carter. 00:11 Today, on the Carter Report, 00:13 John Carter brings us a report from Putin's, New Russia. 00:16 John Carter with the KGB. 00:20 We're so glad today to welcome you to this great program. 00:25 This is a report from Putin's New Russia. 00:31 We just come back from Russia and it's absolutely astounding. 00:37 Russia is a formidable force in the world 00:40 and some would say in American politics. 00:45 We won't get into that. 00:47 We were there in 1971 00:49 when the Soviet Union was challenging the West. 00:54 We were there in 1991 when communism collapsed 00:58 and with it the economy. 01:00 I've now been there, glory be to God 49 times. 01:05 And I have seen with my team tremendous changes. 01:09 Let me say this, 01:11 "He who ignores President Putin's New Russia, 01:16 does so at his own peril." 01:20 A new revolution is now happening in Russia. 01:23 Now, where is Russia? 01:26 How big is Russia? 01:29 What was the Great Russian experiment? 01:33 What is so different about Russian history? 01:38 What is the average Russian like? 01:42 And what is God doing today in Putin's Russia? 01:47 All this and much more in this program today. 01:51 Russia consists of a land mass 01:54 of 6,600,000 square miles. 02:00 It is twice as big as the United States of America. 02:05 It covers one-eighth 02:08 of earth's inhabited land area. 02:12 It's a huge big place 02:15 from east to west is 4,200 miles. 02:20 It has a border that stretches, 02:23 can you believe it, 36,000 miles. 02:28 Thirteen seas and three oceans 02:32 wash the shores of Mother Russia. 02:36 In 1999, Beverley and I with our terrific team 02:42 traveled by train from Moscow to Vladivostok. 02:47 We stayed one night in the city of Irkutsk next to Lake Baikal. 02:52 It took us eight days, 02:54 and I think we traveled over eight time zones. 02:59 It's a vast place. 03:01 When we went to Siberia, I had a preconceived idea 03:05 that this was going to be a terrible place. 03:07 But it's like Canada, 03:09 it's a land of lakes, and rivers, and mountains, 03:13 the Taiga forest, tremendous forest 03:17 is bigger than the United States of America. 03:20 The Taiga forest. 03:22 And Russia is cold. 03:25 We've done a television program on Lake Baikal. 03:30 Until I've gone to Russia 03:31 I've never heard of Lake Baikal. 03:34 It contains more than one-fifth 03:37 of all the surface fresh water in the world. 03:41 It's bigger than all the American great lakes 03:44 put together. 03:45 In some places it is more than a mile deep. 03:50 And most folks have never heard of Lake Baikal. 03:55 I've been out there doing a television program 03:58 when it was minus 40 degrees. 04:01 Russia can get very, very chilly. 04:06 It once was ruled by czars 04:08 or kings in the Russian Orthodox Church. 04:11 It was a land of tremendous wealth and a great economy. 04:16 The common people were kept for hundreds of years 04:19 in servitude, poverty, one would say, slavery. 04:25 Then came the great revolution of 1917. 04:29 This was led by a man by the name of Mr. Lenin 04:33 who got his ideas from Karl Marx. 04:39 He was a German Jew. 04:42 He said these words, 04:44 "Let the ruling classes tremble at a communistic revolution. 04:50 The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. 04:55 They have a world to win. 04:58 Workingmen of all countries unite!" 05:04 And for a while it appeared 05:07 as though communism would rule the world. 05:14 You should not forget this, 05:15 for every reaction there is another reaction. 05:20 Communism was a revolt against a corrupt church 05:25 and a corrupt government, 05:26 that's why you have communism 05:28 in some places in Latin America. 05:35 They thought they were going to make the people's paradise, 05:38 heaven on earth, 05:40 but millions perished especially under Stalin. 05:45 I want you to meet a friend of mine, 05:46 a dear friend, his name is Paul the Prisoner. 05:53 He is an Adventist Christian. 05:56 He is my friend and my brother. 05:59 During the days of the communists, 06:02 he had a little printing press 06:04 and used to turn out Christian literature. 06:07 And this, of course, was forbidden by the Kremlin. 06:12 One of our own church members 06:15 turned him in to the KGB. 06:20 He was placed in a refrigerator cell for three years. 06:26 They would freeze him up, 06:28 when he was dying they would throw him out. 06:32 Freeze him up again, his teeth fell out. 06:36 They said, "You can leave, but there is one condition, 06:40 you just have to be a reporter. 06:46 You've got to report on your people in the church. 06:50 You've got to be an informer." 06:52 He said, "Never, never, never." 06:57 He stayed there for three years. 06:59 He now works in the prisons for Russian prisoners. 07:04 Another friend of mine was Pastor Mikhail Kulakov 07:10 because he was a preacher of the gospel, 07:13 he was sent to Siberia, 07:16 and worked out in the freezing minus 40, minus 50 07:21 in the forest for five years. 07:24 Mikhail Gorbachev whom I think is a great man 07:29 personally apologized to him. 07:31 He said, we cannot return the years 07:35 but we say, "We're sorry." 07:37 There's a city in the far east that is famous 07:41 at least some of us know about it, 07:43 it is the city of Magadan. 07:48 One of the coldest hellholes on the face of the earth 07:52 where hundreds of thousands of Christians 07:55 and descendants was sent maybe millions went. 07:59 The life expectancy of a person in Magadan 08:03 was measured in weeks rather than years. 08:07 The roads were paved 08:10 with human bones. 08:14 On one occasion in Vladivostok that I have visited 08:18 after traveling on the Trans-Siberian Express 08:21 that I had the privilege of driving 08:26 for a little while. 08:28 But in Vladivostok a group of the prisoners on their way 08:32 to Magadan revolted over some issue like food. 08:38 And so the communists, the atheists hose them down 08:42 in the midst of winter, 08:44 they immediately became blocks of ice 08:48 by the thousands. 08:55 Tens of millions were sent to concentration camps 09:00 under the atheists. 09:04 Dostoyevsky was one of the Great Russian writers 09:08 and philosophers, 09:10 he said these words in one of his books, 09:12 "If there is no God, everything is permitted." 09:19 And I would say to you, why not? 09:23 If there is no God, everything is permitted. 09:29 Because if there is no God, 09:30 there is no right and there is no wrong. 09:33 Most people do not think logically. 09:35 They think if you get rid of God, 09:37 everything can be the same. 09:38 That's stupidity. 09:42 The only reason we know there's good 09:45 is because we believe there is God. 09:48 You see. 09:49 And it has been said that God through the influence 09:53 of the philosophers died in the 19th century 09:57 and man died in the 20th, 10:01 in Russia they died by the millions. 10:04 One of the greatest of the saints 10:06 of the Christian church was Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 10:11 you ought to read his book "The Gulag Archipelago," 10:15 you ought to read it. 10:18 He says that 60 million people, 10:23 mainly Russians were imprisoned during the 20th century 10:28 by the atheistic communists. 10:31 Did you hear how many? 10:32 He said 60 million 10:35 were put into the Gulag Archipelago, 10:39 these concentration camps. 10:42 If there is no God, 10:44 everything is permitted. 10:49 I've discovered that some of the greatest Christians 10:53 in the world had been Russians 10:58 because great suffering produces great character, 11:03 and when you have a time 11:05 of continual prosperity and affluence 11:09 like you have in Australia and in America 11:13 it breeds weak Christians, 11:18 and weak people. 11:24 Person who's been driving me around over there 11:28 now for 25 years is a pastor whose name is Vitaly. 11:34 He told me the story of his mother. 11:37 She was an Adventist Christian in the days of Stalin. 11:43 She wanted to go to church from her little village 11:46 somewhere in Siberia 11:49 which is always cold except in summer. 11:52 When you're gonna have a 100 degrees Fahrenheit 11:55 for about six weeks. 11:57 But she would start walking to church on Friday evening 12:02 and walk through the snow, 12:04 sometimes having to wade through the snow. 12:10 And then as the sun came up, she'd get out on the road 12:13 and she thumb a ride as they used to say. 12:18 They'd put her on the back of a truck, a Russian truck, 12:22 she would travel for three hours. 12:24 Think how cold, think of the rafting truck. 12:29 And some of us find it hard to get out of bed 12:31 to go to church. 12:36 And then she would get to the church 12:38 and it would start at 9 o'clock in the morning 12:41 with preaching, and singing, and praying, 12:46 reading the Word and would finish at 5 o'clock. 12:50 Eight hours straight church, you know why? 12:54 They needed it, they wanted it. 12:56 They were hungry for God. 12:57 They weren't like us. 13:01 Hungry for God. 13:02 And then at half past five she'd start to walk back, 13:06 and she'd walk out to the road, 13:09 and she'd get on a truck 13:12 which would take her to the forest, 13:14 and then she'd walk all through the night. 13:17 And as the sun came up on Sunday morning 13:20 say at half past eight, she would get home. 13:24 She did it year after year. 13:30 Great suffering makes great people. 13:35 I want you to come over here to Proverbs 24:11, 12. 13:39 I want you to look at this text. 13:42 And I want you to ask God, "God, explain this text to me," 13:47 because I don't think most of us understand this. 13:51 Proverbs 24:11, 12. 13:54 "Deliver those who are drawn toward death, 13:57 hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. 14:02 If you say, 'Surely we did not know this,' 14:06 does not He who weighs the heart consider it. 14:10 He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? 14:14 And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?'" 14:20 The Bible says, there are people, 14:24 the lost people outside of Christ. 14:29 And the Bible says, 14:30 they're stumbling towards their death. 14:34 The Bible says, deliver them. 14:39 People have asked me the question, 14:43 "Why go to Russia? 14:45 Why go to some of these dreadful countries 14:49 where your life is in danger?" 14:51 Because... 14:53 And I don't say this self-righteously, 14:54 I say it from the Bible. 14:56 I believe it, I believe the Bible. 14:59 I believe there's no other way to be saved 15:01 except through Jesus Christ. 15:04 I don't believe that we're born saved. 15:06 I don't believe the nonsense that people are saved 15:10 until they reject. 15:13 Everybody is saved until He rejects. 15:16 You don't read that in the Bible 15:19 that is the religion of very, very, lazy people. 15:24 I want you to come over here to Ephesians 2:1-3. 15:29 And I want you to notice what the Bible says 15:32 about the state of people outside of Christ. 15:38 And this will help you to understand 15:40 why we believe in evangelism. 15:43 You're not going to hear this 15:44 most likely in your church next weekend, 15:48 so listen to it carefully. 15:49 Ephesians 2:1-3. 15:52 "And you He is made alive, 15:55 who were dead in trespasses and sins," 15:57 without Christ the Bible says you're dead, 16:02 "In which you once walked 16:03 according to the course of this world, 16:05 according to the prince of the power of the air, 16:08 the spirit who is now at work 16:10 in the sons of disobedience, 16:16 among whom also we all had conducted ourselves 16:19 in the lusts of our flesh, 16:21 fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, 16:25 and were by nature children of wrath, 16:29 just as the others." 16:31 The Bible actually talks about people who are dead. 16:38 And it says not only are they dead, 16:42 but they are children of wrath. 16:48 Does it make sense now to you 16:51 that Jesus said, "Go into all the world 16:55 and preach the gospel," 16:57 because without Christ people are dead." 17:00 People say, "I can't believe this." 17:02 I appeal to you to do one thing, 17:05 to believe the words of the Bible. 17:09 Read on Ephesians 2:4 and onwards, 17:11 "But God, who is rich in mercy, 17:13 because of His great love with which He loved us, 17:15 even when we were dead in trespasses, 17:18 made us alive together with Christ by grace 17:21 you have been saved, and raised us up together, 17:25 and made us sit together 17:27 in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 17:30 that in the ages to come He might show exceeding 17:34 riches of His grace in His kindness 17:36 toward us in Christ Jesus. 17:38 For by grace you have been saved through faith, 17:41 and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God," 17:46 then it says, "not of works, lest anyone should boast. 17:49 For we are His workmanship, 17:50 created in Christ Jesus for good works, 17:54 which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." 17:57 The Bible teaches this categorically 18:00 that the only way that we can be saved 18:03 is by the grace of God. 18:05 We're not saved because we're good enough. 18:08 We're not saved because of our righteous works. 18:12 This sort of is hard for the carnal heart, isn't it? 18:15 The Bible says, "We're saved by grace through faith. 18:18 We are saved through the Lord Jesus Christ." 18:21 And the Bible tells us that people need to hear 18:26 the word of the gospel so they can be saved. 18:30 Now look at verse 12 if you don't mind, Ephesians 2:12. 18:35 Ephesians 2:12. 18:37 Look at these words and please believe these words. 18:40 Look at it in the Bible, 18:42 "That at that time you were without Christ, 18:45 being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel 18:49 and strangers from the covenants of promise, 18:52 having no hope and without God in the world." 18:55 I've seen them. 18:57 I've seen millions of souls 18:59 here in the United States of America and in Russia 19:02 without hope and without God in the world. 19:05 Now please notice verse... 19:08 Let me see verse 13. 19:14 "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off 19:19 have been brought near by the blood of Christ." 19:23 Verse 17, "And He came and preached peace to you 19:28 who were afar off and to those who were near. 19:32 For through Him we both have access 19:35 by one Spirit to the Father. 19:38 Now, therefore, you are no longer 19:41 strangers and foreigners, 19:43 but fellow citizens with the saints 19:46 and members of the household of God." 19:51 Listen to me, people have said to me, 19:55 "Got have retired 15 years ago, why do you keep going?" 19:59 Because I believe in the Bible. 20:01 It's not a job, 20:03 I don't work for an organization, 20:06 I'm not paid to do what I do. 20:09 The Bible says, "Without Christ people are lost." 20:15 And the reason we've gone to Russia and other places 20:19 is because we believe the Bible, 20:22 we are not liberals who explain away the Word of God. 20:28 The Bible teaches that the preaching of the gospel 20:34 is God's ordained means of saving the lost. 20:40 We say this humbly, we invite you to join us, 20:44 step out of the lethargy, 20:46 step out of the lethargy 20:49 of the church which is sleeping. 20:53 We walk in the footsteps of the great missionaries 20:56 and the great preachers. 20:58 Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord was a preacher of the gospel. 21:05 Jesus was a missionary. 21:09 He came on a mission from another universe. 21:15 We believe in evangelism. 21:17 You know what the word evangelism means? 21:19 It's got a bad name now 21:21 because the people don't want to be disturbed. 21:24 Evangelism means the preaching of the good news 21:27 of Jesus Christ. 21:29 You cannot be a Christian and be opposed to evangelism. 21:34 Jesus was the greatest evangelist. 21:37 Then you have the great Apostle Paul, 21:39 the greatest theologian. 21:41 I say to the theologians 21:43 "If you want to be like the Apostle Paul, 21:46 then step away from your desk, 21:49 and go to Russia or some other place 21:52 and preach the gospel." 21:55 You see, Paul was an evangelist, 21:58 Peter was an evangelist, 22:01 John Wesley my... 22:06 What should I say, my hero. 22:09 This little Englishman preached 42,000 sermons, 22:14 traveled 360,000 miles on the back of a horse 22:19 in the midst of winters, why? 22:21 Driven, burning, a fire in his belly, why? 22:25 Because he believed the words of Christ. 22:29 I appeal to you, folks, to step out of it 22:32 and start to believe in the God who believes in you, 22:35 and believe the Bible. 22:37 I think of David Livingstone who came from Scotland, 22:42 and who went to darkest Africa. 22:44 I've walked in his footsteps. 22:47 I have been to Victoria Falls. 22:50 I've been through all of that area. 22:52 I've been to the City of Livingstone. 22:56 He said I saw the smoke of a thousand villages. 23:01 Nobody there believed in Christ. 23:04 The liberal will tell you today, 23:05 "Oh, they're all saved because they haven't rejected." 23:09 My message to you is they're all lost 23:13 because they haven't accepted. 23:17 So David Livingstone with fire in his belly 23:21 went to Africa and preached the Gospel of Christ. 23:26 And that is why we went to Russia 23:29 and returned almost 50 times. 23:33 We did so not because we like sitting in the back of planes, 23:40 we do so because we believe 23:43 in the message of the Gospel of Christ, 23:48 "That God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. 23:53 So that whoever believes in Him, 23:57 shall not perish but have everlasting life," 23:59 but people have got to believe." 24:03 Paul said in Romans, "How shall I believe 24:07 without a preacher coming to them." 24:10 That is why I believe that the greatest gift 24:14 it is described in 1 Corinthians 12. 24:19 The greatest gift to say is the gift of the apostle, 24:24 one who was sent to preach the Gospel of Christ. 24:28 This is the Word of God. 24:31 I'm going to tell you now some stories that are amazing, 24:36 stories of grace and power, 24:40 stories that will make your heart 24:44 start to beat a little bit faster. 24:48 And if these stories don't make your heart 24:50 beat a little faster, 24:52 you better check your pulse to see if you've got one. 24:57 I'm going to tell you stories about our meetings 25:01 with the KGB officers 25:04 who said to me, "Don't forget us, we too have souls." 25:11 I'm going to introduce to you today 25:15 the mafia godfather who is now my brother 25:18 saved through the preaching of the gospel. 25:25 I'm going to tell you about the largest baptism 25:30 in the history of Ukraine, Russia. 25:34 And we're gonna do so after this break, 25:37 stay with us, the best is still to come. 25:55 The reviews for the John Carter biography Our End, 25:58 and this is what they say. 26:01 "Anyone who reads this fascinating book 26:02 and he's not moved 26:04 should check to see if they still have a pulse." 26:08 "I believe this book about God's miracles 26:10 in Russia and Ukraine 26:12 will burn the flame in your heart." 26:15 "This could prove to be one of the most important books 26:17 ever written about public evangelism. 26:20 Make sure you get a copy." 26:24 "I believe this book about John Carter's life 26:26 will help readers grasp a vision for their lives." 26:35 "For a donation of $100 or more, 26:38 a signed copy of the John Carter biography 26:40 can be yours 26:41 by writing to us at the address on the screen, 26:43 or visit our website. 26:58 The Word began in a village. 27:02 Churches and schools sprang up and multiplied 27:06 reaching into the city. 27:10 Great truths revealed 27:11 to the people of Papua New Guinea, 27:14 changing thousands of lives. 27:18 Our eyes are going to be opened 27:21 to the discovery of amazing truths. 27:24 The greatest truths in the Bible, 27:26 it is the truth that God loves you. 27:30 It has completely changed my life. 27:32 And I'm going to be baptized this Sabbath. 27:34 Pastor Carter has put something in my heart 27:37 that I will never forget. 27:38 Thank you, Pastor Carter, for your program, 27:40 it has changed my life completely. 27:42 John Carter's Great Truths Revealed 27:44 was recorded live from Papua New Guinea. 27:47 Experience the miracles in this 21-DVD series 27:50 for a gift of a $150 USD, or $210 AUD. 27:54 To order visit our website or call. 28:00 Pastor Carter and the report team 28:02 recently returned from Russia. 28:04 They brought back with them a special report 28:07 on Putin's New Russia. 28:10 I've gone there 49 times 28:12 because I've seen the power of God. 28:18 John Carter would like to offer you this free one hour DVD, 28:22 "Report from Putin's New Russia". 28:25 That is why I believe that the greatest gift 28:28 is the gift of the apostle. 28:32 Write to the address on the screen, 28:34 call, or visit our website, 28:36 and receive your free DVD report 28:39 about Putin's New Russia. 28:41 I have seen Pentecost. 28:43 I have seen the power of God. 28:49 Get your free DVD Report from Putin's New Russia, 28:53 and watch the amazing transforming power 28:57 of the Gospel of Christ. |
Revised 2017-12-31