Participants: John Dinzey (Host), John Carter
Series Code: 15HC
Program Code: 15HC000005A
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00:50 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Fall Camp Meeting
00:54 Homecoming, and we are glad that you're here. 00:57 We praise the Lord. People have come from different parts of the 01:00 United States. Anyone come from outside of the United States? 01:03 Raise your hand. Outside, anyone? 01:05 Well we don't see Sr. Julia and the rest of our Russian 01:09 team, but we welcome every one of you 01:12 for this opportunity to come to the Lord and study 01:17 His Word. Our speaker during this hour 01:20 is Pastor John Carter, evangelist. 01:24 And you know, when I came in 1989 to 3ABN 01:28 one of the speakers was Pastor John Carter. 01:32 I didn't know who he was then. 01:34 But he was at a meeting and there was this big spotlight 01:38 following him wherever he went. 01:40 Huge board, and he was writing with chalk. 01:42 A lot of people in the meeting. 01:44 And I said: "Who is this guy? 01:46 Well he has an accent but he doesn't sound Hispanic 01:50 so he must be from another country. " 01:53 So after listening for a while I found out where he's from. 01:57 And we praise the Lord that the Lord has brought him 02:00 here to the United States. And he's a man of vision. 02:04 Dares to step out in faith. 02:06 And I've seen throughout the years 02:10 the Lord use him to bring thousands to the Lord Jesus 02:13 Christ. So during this hour you will hear 02:16 a message entitled 02:18 The Rock, the Keys, and the Gates of Hell 02:23 by Pastor John Carter, also the president and speaker 02:27 of The Carter Report which you can see on 3ABN 02:30 and hear on 3ABN Radio. 02:33 We want to encourage you to stay with us during this hour 02:36 and we want you to grab your Bible and get ready 02:39 to study God's Word together. 02:42 Before that we have Pastor C.A. Murray 02:46 I call him doctor... doctor... 02:49 distinguido... distinguished. 02:51 He's a distinguished child of God 02:53 and I praise the Lord for his ministry at 3ABN. 02:55 He will not be preaching this time... he will be singing. 02:58 And the title of the song is He Lifts Me. 03:04 Praise the Lord. Before we hear this song 03:07 we're going to ask you to join us in prayer. 03:10 And if you will kindly stand as we approach God's throne 03:13 of grace we want to ask for His blessing. 03:15 Immediately after the prayer I will leave you with 03:18 Pastor C.A. Murray. And immediately after that 03:21 we will hear the preaching of God's Word 03:24 in the lips of Pastor John Carter. Let us pray together. 03:30 Our loving heavenly Father, 03:32 we do thank you, Lord, for Your mercy. 03:36 All of us have been blessed by Your mercy. 03:40 Truly anyone that is within the hearing of my voice 03:44 has been extended Your mercy and we thank you for it. 03:49 And we ask, Father, that You will speak through Your servant 03:52 Pastor John Carter. 03:54 Use him once again to bring the message You have for us 03:58 through him. And Father, we pray that You will also 04:01 bless Pastor Murray, and that through him we ask for Your 04:04 children to be blessed all over the world as well. 04:07 We thank you for listening to our prayer 04:09 for we ask it in the mighty blessed name of Jesus, 04:13 Amen; amen. 04:15 Thank you. You may be seated. 04:16 I'm actually pinch hitting for Celestine Barry 04:20 our church clerk. A very beautiful person, 04:23 a wonderful singer. She is with her husband. 04:25 He is in the hospital in St. Louis. 04:28 He's got some challenges. He has some heart problems 04:32 and we want to remember him in prayer. 04:35 A wonderful person and pianist. 04:36 Member of this church family. 04:38 And he's got some very very big challenges 04:42 but we know that our God is good 04:44 and that when we lift up the name of Jesus Jesus lifts us up 04:48 which is the message of this song. 05:08 He lifts my burdens 05:12 whenever I'm down; 05:17 He gives me joy 05:21 when I'm wearing a frown. 05:26 He is my hope 05:30 in the midst of despair 05:35 and He... He is my comfort 05:40 for He's always there. 05:50 So I sing 05:53 not because I feel like singing. 05:59 And I praise Him 06:03 though the end I may not see. 06:10 For whenever 06:12 I lift the name of Jesus 06:17 Jesus reaches down 06:21 and He lifts me. 06:33 He is the music 06:37 that makes my heart glad; 06:42 He whispers peace 06:47 whenever I'm sad. 06:51 He is the sunshine 06:56 that brightens my day 07:00 and He... He is the lighthouse 07:05 to show me the way. 07:11 So I sing 07:14 not because I feel like singing. 07:20 And I praise Him 07:24 though the end I may not see. 07:30 For whenever I 07:34 lift the name of Jesus 07:37 Jesus reaches down 07:42 and He lifts me. 07:48 So I sing 07:51 not because I feel like singing. 07:57 And I praise Him 08:01 though the end I may not see. 08:07 For whenever I 08:11 lift the name of Jesus 08:14 Jesus reaches down, 08:19 turns me around, 08:21 and He plants my feet on higher ground. 08:28 He reaches down 08:33 and He 08:37 lifts me. 08:55 Amen. Thank you, my friend. 08:58 Pastor Murray, thank you... you blessed us. 09:02 How are you folks? Blessed! Glad to see you here today. 09:06 Hallelujah! Um-hmm. I want you to know 09:10 that nothing can kill the church. Amen! 09:14 Now today because the Pope is visiting the United States 09:17 of America I'm going to talk about the Rock - the true Rock 09:21 on which the church is built. 09:23 We're going to talk about the keys of the kingdom 09:26 and we're also going to talk about the gates of hell. 09:31 I want you to know this: 09:34 that when God made the church 09:37 He put it upon a Rock that was so solid 09:40 that nothing could move that church. 09:45 Back in 1992 in the midst of a very cold winter 09:51 I traveled by train with a little team 09:55 down to the city of Nizhny Novgorod. 09:58 That's the town of Dr. Julia Outkina 10:01 who is here today with us at 3ABN. 10:06 That church had been ravaged by the Communists. 10:10 A little while before I had gotten there, the Communists, 10:14 the police - the KGB - had gone down to our little church 10:20 and they had beaten up the believers 10:23 and they had smashed all the furniture. 10:27 So I arrived and got off this Russian train 10:32 in the midst of winter. It was very, very cold! 10:37 I looked down into the faces of about 4 or 5 people: 10:42 Alexander, Vasilly, Vitali... 10:46 they now are my great friends. 10:49 They were the survivors of the Holocaust... 10:52 of the Communist Holocaust. 10:55 A few days later I preached in the church: 10:59 just a little company of believers. 11:02 And as I started to preach in that church 11:06 they started to weep 11:08 because I was probably the first foreigner 11:11 who'd ever preached the Word of God to them. 11:14 Just a little group of believers. 11:17 When we gave out the offering baskets 11:20 we did not take up an offering. 11:23 We put money in there so they could take some money out of it. 11:27 You know why? They were so hungry. 11:30 So little food. 11:33 I remember I went downtown 11:36 and there was a truck there loaded up with fish. 11:41 And the person was selling the fish, and there was a 11:44 tremendous line-up of people. 11:46 So cold... and they were buying little bits of fish. 11:51 Everybody was so poor 11:53 because the state had collapsed, the government had collapsed. 11:57 Communism was on its last legs; it was in its death throes. 12:03 And I was moved I believe by the Spirit of God 12:06 to go up, and I said through a translator 12:08 "How much do you want for the truck of fish? " 12:11 So we bought the whole truck of fish. 12:14 And then in the name of Jesus we made an announcement. 12:18 I got up on the back of the truck. I said: 12:20 "In the name of Jesus we want to give you this fish 12:25 because we've come here with a message that God loves you 12:29 and we love you, too. " 12:31 And then when we ran a campaign in that city 12:34 we were told: "It won't work; it can't work. 12:37 Nobody's going to come. " 12:38 But we saw 2,530 people 12:44 baptized in the Volga river. And then a little bit later 12:48 we saw another 500 baptized. 12:50 But I want you to know this, my friend, 12:52 in spite of Communism, 12:55 in spite of the powers of darkness 12:58 nothing can destroy the church of God. Amen! 13:01 And that's what I'm going to talk to you folks about today. 13:04 And I want you to take your Bibles please 13:07 to Matthew chapter 16. 13:09 The topic is: The Church, 13:13 the Keys, the Rock, and the Gates of Hell. 13:17 And I'm just so glad to welcome the television audience; 13:21 I'm just so glad that you're joining us today. 13:24 We're going to turn over here to the text which is 13:26 Matthew chapter 16 and verses 13 through to 19. 13:32 Matthew chapter 16 and verses 13 and onwards. 13:38 And these are the words of God. 13:41 The Bible says: Matthew 16 and verse 13 and onwards: 13:46 "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea-Philippi 13:50 He asked His disciples: 'Who do people say the Son of Man is? ' 13:56 They replied: 'Some say John the Baptist. 13:59 Others say Elijah and still others Jeremiah 14:03 or one of the prophets. ' 14:05 'But what about you? ' He asked. 14:08 'Who do you say that I am? ' 14:11 Simon Peter answered: 'You are the Christ... 14:14 the Son of the Living God. ' 14:17 Jesus replied: 'Blessed are you, Simon, 14:21 son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man 14:25 but by My Father in heaven. 14:27 And I tell you that you are Peter. 14:30 And on this Rock I will build My church 14:34 and the gates of Hades... ' or hell... 'will not overcome it. 14:38 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. 14:42 Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; 14:45 whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ' " 14:49 What does it mean? 14:51 So we're going to talk today about the church, 14:55 the keys, the Rock, 14:59 and the gates of hell. 15:02 And I want to say to my American audience - 15:05 and you are a great audience. You know that, don't you? - 15:09 I want to say to you today from my heart to your heart 15:13 this message is pertinent for our times - Amen! - 15:19 because right now the Pope of Rome 15:23 is visiting the United States of America. 15:26 He's been addressing Congress 15:29 and telling us how we ought to run our country. 15:33 He's been telling people what they ought to do, 15:36 and even our president called him holy father... 15:42 because so many people are greeting this man 15:47 as though he were God. 15:51 Holy father. But I want you folks to know something: 15:56 there is only one Holy Father and He is not on this earth! 16:01 Amen! We have one Holy Father 16:04 and He is in heaven. Amen! 16:07 And we have one High Priest and that is Jesus Christ the Lord. 16:13 Amen! And so today we're going to talk about 16:17 the church and the keys, 16:20 the Rock, and the gates of hell. 16:26 Now let's talk about the church for a start. 16:31 The word church in the Bible is the Greek word 16:35 ekklesia and it means called out. 16:41 This term church in the Bible 16:44 never refers to a building. 16:49 Now you say: "This is my church. " 16:53 But I want you to know the church is never 16:57 never a building. The church is the people of God 17:03 and the Bible says that they are called out. 17:10 Now God had a church in the city of Corinth. You know that? 17:14 And that was a city with idolatry, immorality, 17:18 and sexual perversion. 17:21 And the church was called out. 17:24 God had a church in the ancient city of Rome. 17:28 Rome... with its politics and politicians. 17:32 Its extravagance; its corruption; its cruelty; 17:36 and its depravity. 17:39 And God had a people who were called out 17:42 of that disgraceful condition in the world in Rome. 17:49 God had a church in Jerusalem. 17:54 And those people were called out of Jerusalem 17:57 with its phony religion, 18:00 man-made rules, and pontificating priests. 18:05 God had a church in Jerusalem. They were called out. 18:09 Not a building. 18:13 And God has a church in Los Angeles 18:17 with its shallowness, its lying, its cheating, 18:22 and its sexual perversions. 18:24 With Hollywood and the pornog- raphy and all of those things. 18:29 God has a church and the church is called out. 18:33 And God has got a church here today. 18:37 I'm talking to the church. 18:39 And the Bible tells me this. Listen to this very carefully: 18:43 The church is called out of the world 18:46 to live lives of holiness. Amen. 18:50 I want you to take your Bibles. You've got them there. 18:53 Turn with me now to Ephesians chapter 2 18:56 and verses 1 down to 10 18:58 to the words of Saint Paul. Ephesians chapter 2 19:04 and verses 1 and onwards. 19:06 Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1 and onwards. 19:10 The Bible says... have you got that text? 19:13 Amen. I want you to see it, dear friends. 19:15 Ephesians 2: "As for you... 19:19 you were dead in your transgressions and sins... " 19:23 That's how we are without Christ... dead. 19:26 "in which you used to live when you followed the ways 19:30 of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air: 19:34 the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. " 19:38 This is not talking about the church. 19:41 This is talking about people before they became a part 19:44 of the church. 19:47 "All of us also lived among them at one time, 19:50 gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature 19:56 and following its desires and thoughts. 20:00 Like the rest, were were by nature objects of wrath 20:05 but because of His great love for us 20:08 God, who is rich in mercy, 20:11 made us alive in Christ Jesus. " 20:15 And the Bible tells us: "Even when we were dead 20:19 in our transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. 20:26 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him 20:30 in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus 20:33 in order that in the coming ages He might show 20:37 the incomparable riches of His grace 20:41 expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus 20:46 for it is by grace you have been saved through faith 20:50 and this not from yourselves... it is the gift of God. " 20:57 And so the church is not called to depravity. 21:03 The church is not called to a life of sin. 21:08 The Bible tells me the very Greek word 21:11 tells me that the church is called out. 21:15 And the church is called out saved by grace for holiness. 21:23 Now there's something else I want you to know. 21:25 There's a lot of things I want you to know today. 21:28 But the true church of Jesus Christ is color blind. 21:34 Um-hmm. In the book of Revelation 21:37 it describes the church that is called out. And it says 21:43 it is a church from every kindred, from every nation, 21:49 every color. 21:51 And so the church, my friend, abhors the sin 21:57 of racism. In God's church 22:03 you've got people from Mexico 22:07 and from England and France 22:12 and Russia and China and El Salvador and Cuba 22:18 and Africa. From every nation. 22:22 From India, from America, from Canada and from Chile. 22:28 God's got people in the church who are white 22:33 and He's got people in the church who are black. 22:37 And He's got people in the church who are brown 22:41 and in God's eyes they are all equal 22:45 because they've been washed by the blood of Jesus. 22:47 Amen! Hallelujah! 22:51 Now I'm going to tell you folks something. 22:54 You've gotta hear this through. 22:57 Don't get mad at me until I've told the story. 23:01 OK? Don't... don't presume anything. 23:05 But I want you folks... here it starts now: 23:08 I want you folks to know there'll be no white people 23:12 in heaven. Amen! I want you folks to know 23:16 there'll be no black people in heaven. 23:22 The only people who are going to be in heaven 23:24 are red people because they're under the red blood of Jesus. 23:28 Amen! Praise the Lord! 23:31 Praise the Lord! And so we're talking today about the church 23:34 that is called out. And in the church of God, my friend, 23:38 there are no hierarchies. 23:41 Oh now... there are no hierarchies. 23:46 We don't have a pope in our church. 23:51 And in the Bible church there was no pope! 23:55 There are people who say: "But don't you know that 23:57 Peter was the first pope? " No I don't know. 24:02 Umm. Peter never went to Rome. 24:05 There is no evidence that Peter ever went to Rome. 24:10 The church has got one head. He is not in Rome; 24:14 He is not in Washington. 24:20 The head of the church, my friend, is in heaven 24:24 and His name is Jesus. Amen! 24:27 Now I want you to come over... You're such a great audience, 24:30 you know. You really get me... 24:32 you sort of stir me up a little bit. 24:35 I don't know if I could take too much of you folks. 24:38 I think you'd sort of wear me out. 24:41 Umm... Now would you come over here to Galatians chapter 3 24:45 verses 28 and 29. 24:47 And really I tell you: you are a very good audience. 24:51 I wish the people watching in Australia, 24:53 any other place, I wish you could be here and meet 24:56 with these great people. This is a great audience. 24:59 Galatians 3:28-29. 25:04 Turn to the text: Galatians 3. Having a good time here today. 25:09 Galatians 3:28-29. You ready? 25:13 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, 25:17 slave nor free, 25:20 male nor female 25:24 for you are all one in Christ Jesus. " 25:28 In God's church the Bible says 25:31 there are no men and there are no women 25:36 but they are all equal in the sight of God. 25:40 Amen! And so God doesn't have any second-class citizens. 25:45 And I've got a feeling that for a long, long time 25:50 in the church - not talking about this church here... 25:54 I'm covering myself a little 25:57 I want you to know... but for a long time 26:01 in God's church women have been second-class citizens. 26:07 All right... all right! 26:09 Have they never heard of the blessed virgin Mary 26:12 who gave us our Lord? 26:15 And the great saints like Mary Magdalene? 26:24 So the church is called out. 26:26 Sometimes we don't get quite out, do we? 26:28 We bring a lot of baggage with us. 26:31 Racism. Chauvinism. 26:36 Um-hmm. 26:38 I can't tell much more 'cause I'm running out of words. 26:44 Now I want to... I want you to know something else. 26:50 The church is not perfect. 26:52 It's not sinless. 26:55 When our blessed Lord in Matthew 13 gave the parables 26:59 you know He talked about the wise man who went out 27:04 and sowed the good seed. 27:06 You know the story. 27:08 And the enemy who went out and who sowed the bad seed. 27:14 And after a little while the kingdom of God was 27:18 filled with good seed and bad seed. 27:22 And Jesus said: "Don't root 'em up; let 'em grow together 27:27 until the harvest. " 27:29 And Jesus said: "That's My church. " 27:34 There was a person looking for a perfect church. 27:38 Said: "When I find the perfect church 27:41 I'm going to join the perfect church. " 27:43 Somebody said: "Don't do that because if you join it 27:46 it won't be perfect any longer. " 27:49 Now folks, there are no perfect people 27:52 except those who are perfect in the righteousness of Christ 27:58 and that is the gift of God. 28:01 And so God has got a church 28:03 but don't expect that it's going to be a perfect church. 28:09 Now we had a person in our church 28:14 who we believe had a prophetic gift. 28:18 And that person - Ellen White - said this: 28:21 "The church today is not the church triumphant; 28:26 it is the church militant. " 28:31 It's not the church triumphant. 28:33 We are a church of... wait for this... 28:38 We are a church or the church is a collection 28:43 of saved sinners. 28:47 And in Revelation chapter 11 it talks about the true church 28:52 clothed in sackcloth and ashes. 28:57 That's Revelation chapter 11. 28:59 The church clothed in sackcloth and ashes. 29:03 The true church talks about Jesus; 29:06 a cult talks about itself. 29:11 Did you get that? A cult is always talking about itself. 29:16 How good we are. My friend, 29:19 the church is composed... it is a called out company 29:24 of people who've been washed in the blood of the Lamb 29:31 but they're still sinners 29:33 saved by grace. 29:37 Martin Luther said these words. We're going to talk about it 29:39 tonight. Luther said these words: 29:43 "A Christian... " Now some of you will find this hard 29:46 to understand... but not if you know your own heart. 29:49 "A Christian is always a sinner, 29:52 always a penitent, always right with God. " 29:58 What does it mean? A Christian is always a sinner. 30:02 Does it mean he's going out and stealing? 30:04 Committing adultery? No, no, no, no, no. 30:11 But in our hearts we know that we are stumbling 30:15 and falling and rising again. 30:18 We know that all have sinned and continue to fall short 30:23 of the glory of God. If you know your own heart, 30:28 you won't be so hard on the people in the pews. 30:34 Or your spouse. 30:37 Or your children. 30:39 A Pharisee makes the worst father or mother 30:44 because as I mentioned last night he's got the religion 30:48 of do, do, do... cock-a-doodle do. 30:51 You've got to do, do, do, do, do. 30:53 And that's how we drive people out of the kingdom of God. 30:58 You know, as the poet said: "I would not work my soul 31:02 to save for this my Lord has done. 31:05 But I would work like any slave 31:08 for the love of God's dear Son. " 31:11 So I'm not saved by my works. 31:13 I'm saved by Christ's works. 31:16 And so the church members recognize that they are 31:20 a company of penitent sinners. 31:25 Now... the Rock. 31:31 Now if you go and talk to the Pope, he'll tell you 31:34 that the church was built upon Peter. 31:37 The Pope is wrong! Um-hmm. 31:42 You say: "You know more about the Bible than the pope? " 31:45 Yes I do. 31:47 Yes I do. 31:49 Of course I do. 31:54 Is this pride? No! 31:57 I know what the Bible teaches. 31:59 I don't think he does. 32:04 When Francis was made the Pope 32:07 they whispered to him... they pronounced to him... 32:10 "Thou art Peter. " 32:13 And that is why this man is being received 32:18 almost like God 32:22 by the Americans 32:25 who once were brought up to believe the Bible. 32:29 But most of them know nothing any more about the Bible. 32:33 Nothing! 32:42 "I say unto you that you are Peter, and on this Rock 32:46 I will build My church. " 32:48 This is a great text for our beloved Roman Catholic friends. 32:52 Let us make it very plain: we love the Roman Catholics. 32:56 We love the Roman Catholic church. 32:58 We love the Pope, but we reserve the right 33:03 to preach the Bible and say what we believe. 33:06 This is still America. Amen! 33:11 And there are some who would take from you 33:15 the precious gift of freedom of speech 33:18 and freedom of religion. 33:24 So who is this Rock? 33:26 Would you come in your Bibles 33:29 to Deuteronomy. And if the Pope is watching 33:37 I'd like you, Francis, to please go and get your Bible. 33:44 And if you don't have one, write to me, John Carter, 33:47 P.O. Box 1900, Thousand Oaks, CA, 33:50 and we will send you a Bible. 33:56 It's OK to laugh in church, folks. 33:58 You know that? All right? 34:01 Deuteronomy 32:4. 34:03 He is the Rock. Deuteronomy. 34:07 Written by Moses, the servant of God. 34:11 Deuteronomy. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 34:14 Numbers, Deuteronomy. 34:16 The fifth book of the Pentateuch. 34:20 "He is the Rock. His works are perfect 34:24 and all His ways are just. 34:27 A faithful God who does no wrong; upright and just 34:30 is He. " HE is the Rock. 34:33 God is the Rock. If you read through the Old Testament 34:37 text after text it says that God, the Almighty God 34:42 who made us, is the Rock. He is the Rock of Ages. 34:45 Would you come over now to I Corinthians chapter 10 34:47 and verse 3. 34:49 I Corinthians 10:3. 34:55 I Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 3. 34:59 Some folks coming in. We welcome them coming in. 35:02 Haven't they missed out on a lot of good stuff, though? 35:05 Boy! We've been having such a good time. 35:08 Don't tell them what you've heard, though. 35:11 I Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 3. 35:13 You folks ready to go? 35:15 "They all ate the same spiritual food 35:19 and drank the same spiritual drink 35:22 for they drank from the spiritual Rock that accompanied 35:25 them and said: 'And that Rock was Christ. ' " 35:30 Amen! Listen: Christ is the Rock. 35:36 There's no other foundation laid than that which is laid 35:39 which is Jesus Christ. 35:43 Christ is the Rock. 35:45 That was the teaching of the Protestant reformers 35:48 who believed in sola Christus: 35:51 only Christ. 35:55 We have a High Priest. 35:58 We confess our sins to our Priest every day. 36:02 Our Priest is Christ. Amen! Sola Christus, sola scriptura. 36:07 Not the writings of the church. 36:10 Not the deliberations of the church councils. 36:15 But this is the truth. 36:19 This is our guiding star. 36:22 This is our wisdom. 36:25 This is our authority: sola scriptura... only scripture. 36:31 Sola gratia... only grace. We're not saved by our works. 36:35 Sola gratia. Sola fide... only faith. 36:38 That is the battle cry of the Protestant Reformation. 36:45 Did you know that sometimes I show a movie 36:50 on Martin Luther. And many of the people who come 36:54 they say: "Wasn't he the black man who was killed 36:58 in America? " 37:03 No! This is what people... 37:05 Most people today have never heard of him! 37:08 There would have been no America except for the Protestant 37:13 Reformation! Amen! Um-hmm. 37:19 Now Peter said... Peter's confession: 37:23 "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. " 37:28 It is upon that great truth that the church is built. 37:33 Now listen to this: if you want to know the truth, 37:37 and once again I hope Pope Francis is watching today, 37:41 want to welcome you today... 37:44 Listen... listen to this: 37:49 The Bible tells me that when you die you sleep in the grave 37:53 unconscious until the resurrection. Amen! 37:56 The blessed virgin Mary... a lot of people disagree with me 37:59 on this, but that's OK... They have the right to be wrong. 38:02 But... but listen to me: 38:05 the Bible teaches that when a person dies he sleeps in the 38:09 grave until the resurrection. 38:11 The blessed virgin Mary is not in heaven. 38:14 The great saint Paul is not in heaven. 38:19 The great saint Peter is not in heaven. 38:22 They are waiting the resurrection. Amen! 38:25 You hear what I'm saying? Yes! 38:29 Now, if the church is built upon Peter 38:32 it is built upon a dead man. 38:38 I want you to know this: 38:41 a spiritually dead church is built upon a dead man. 38:47 The false church is built upon a dead man 38:52 but the true church is built upon a living Christ! 38:56 Hallelujah! Amen! 38:59 The true church is built not upon Peter; 39:03 it is built upon the Rock 39:07 and that Rock is Christ. 39:11 Therefore we look not to man... however mighty... 39:17 but we look only to Christ. 39:21 We do not fall down before any pontiff 39:25 and kiss his ring. 39:30 We fall down at the feet 39:33 of the Man whose hands were pierced for you and me. 39:39 Yes! The church has one foundation: 39:43 tis Jesus Christ her Lord. 39:46 She is His new creation 39:48 through water by the Word. 39:51 From heaven He came and sought her 39:54 to be His holy bride. 39:57 With His own blood He bought her 40:00 and for her life He died. 40:04 The keys. "I give unto you the keys of the kingdom. " 40:09 The keys. The Pope teaches that this represents 40:16 some supernatural mystical power 40:19 and he can shut some people out and let others in. 40:23 I would imagine after this sermon today I'll probably be 40:26 shut out. 40:32 And millions have been held in the fear of superstition 40:38 all their lives. "Unless I forgive your sins 40:42 you will be shut out and confined to hell! " 40:49 That doctrine is called in scripture "the abomination 40:53 of desolation. " 40:56 What are the keys that unlock the doors of paradise? 41:01 Would you come with me to Luke 11 verse 52 41:07 to the words of our blessed Lord. 41:13 We're turning to Luke chapter 11 41:19 in the holy Bible. This is our authority. 41:24 Not some hierarchy... no. 41:28 Luke 11 verse 52. 41:30 Jesus, our blessed Lord, said to the religious leaders 41:35 of His day these words: 41:38 "Woe to you experts in the law 41:41 because you have taken away the key to knowledge. 41:48 Ye yourselves have not entered and you have hindered those 41:52 who were entering. " 41:54 The knowledge... the key. 42:00 The keys of the kingdom: the knowledge of the Word of God. 42:04 The knowledge of scripture. 42:07 The religious leaders took it away from the people. 42:11 They would not go in themselves 42:14 and they stopped all those who wanted to go in. 42:17 Jesus said: "Woe unto you. " 42:21 The keys. God gave to the church 42:25 the power to open the gates of paradise 42:30 through the preaching of the Word of God 42:35 and the gospel of Christ. 42:40 When I was a boy going to Avondale College 42:43 I was 17 years of age 42:46 and there came a man. He was a British preacher 42:51 and he preached in the chapel for a week. 42:56 And one day he spoke about the God-filled blank. 43:00 And he said: "In the heart of every person there is a blank 43:05 and only God can fill it. " 43:08 I think he quoted the words of the great Roman Catholic 43:11 theologian Saint Augustin. 43:14 And Saint Augustin or St. Augustine said these words: 43:18 "Our souls were made for God 43:21 and they cannot rest until they rest in Him. " 43:25 There's an emptiness inside you 43:27 if you don't have Christ in your heart. 43:30 And you can try to fill it up with everything. 43:32 You can try to fill it up with illicit sex and drugs 43:37 and television. 43:40 Preach it now! I'm trying to, ma'am... 43:42 I'm trying hard. 43:46 You folks watching this program, you don't know what's really 43:49 going on here. But we're just having a great time here. 43:54 We're having a little talking back and forth here. 43:57 Now that lady who's there: I'd take her with me anywhere. 44:02 You know, I'd put her on my team just to have a comic. 44:10 You know what's happened? 44:12 I've forgotten what I was going to tell you. 44:13 I now remember it... I now remember. 44:16 I sat in that chapel. I was a lost young boy. 44:22 And as that man told me about Christ... 44:25 that God came down and in the person of Christ 44:29 lived among us and was nailed to the cross for our sins... 44:35 When he told me that for the guilt of our sins 44:39 the nails drove in when Him they crucified 44:42 it broke my heart. 44:47 I went about for days in a daze. 44:52 I would walk around the campus of dear Avondale College 44:57 and I did not know where I was going 45:00 because I was caught up almost to the third heaven. 45:05 I'd seen a vision of the King in all His glory 45:09 and my soul cried out: "Glory, glory, glory. " 45:12 Amen! The birds were singing sweeter. 45:16 They were... um-hmm. 45:19 The sky was bluer. 45:22 People were nicer... kinder. 45:29 They hadn't changed but I had because I had seen 45:34 Christ on the cross. Amen. 45:36 That man had opened the gates of paradise. 45:39 He'd put the key in the door and he had turned the lock 45:44 and a door had opened up and a sinner had come home. 45:50 The most important work for the church... 45:54 listen to this... is not to have committee meetings. 46:00 As you go around the world 46:02 how many monuments, pray tell me, do you find to committees? 46:08 You don't. 46:12 Now committees on occasions may do some good things... 46:15 on occasions. 46:17 But the work of the church is not to talk and deliberate. 46:21 The work of the church is to preach the gospel. Amen! 46:26 People say to me: "Why do you keep going? " 46:28 Because there are two things that a minister can't do: 46:31 he can't tell lies and he can't retire! 46:37 That's what H.M.S. Richards said 46:39 my American friends. 46:43 And so God gave to the church the awesome power 46:46 to save souls. They are the keys. 46:50 Not some words of gibberish spoken by some 46:55 religious cleric to terrify people 46:59 that the church has got some power to throw them into hell 47:03 or not. It is the gospel of the Son of God. 47:09 It is the blood of Christ. 47:16 The greatest honor that I have ever had, 47:20 the greatest privilege, the greatest responsibility 47:24 the greatest authority is the preaching of the gospel 47:29 of Christ and saving souls. 47:32 "I give unto you the keys of the kingdom. " 47:39 The gates of hell... what does it mean? 47:43 Come to Matthew 16 verse 18 again. 47:47 Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18. 47:53 What a passage of scripture! 47:55 Matthew 16 and verse 18. 48:00 "And I tell you that you are Peter... " a little rock. 48:04 A little rolling pebble. 48:07 "And on this Rock... " The Rock of Ages... 48:11 I will build My church. 48:15 And the gates of hell... " The gates of Hades... 48:19 "will not overcome it. " 48:23 Now I'm reading to you from the NIV. 48:27 The KJV says in a very beautiful way 48:30 "the gates of hell. " This translation says 48:35 more accurately "the gates of Hades. " 48:40 Now Hades was believed by the contemporaries of Christ 48:46 to be the abode of the dead. 48:50 When you read in the gospel of Luke - I think it's chapter 16- 48:55 you read there of the rich man and Lazarus 49:00 and how the rich man went down into Hades. 49:05 It was a story that was believed by the people back there 49:11 that there was a great expanse 49:16 where the dead lived. 49:21 Now Jesus says "the gates. " 49:28 This is very interesting: the gates of Hades 49:33 are the gates of the grave. 49:36 The gates right at the very commencement 49:41 of the vast abode of the dead. 49:45 Did you know that the ancients believed 49:50 that was where the demons met? 49:54 Because in ancient cities - and this is not speculation - 49:58 the elders of the city would go to the gates 50:02 and they would talk and deliber- ate and do their business deals. 50:08 They would also do their scheming at the gates 50:13 of the city. 50:16 Now Jesus here is picturing 50:21 in His divine mind 50:24 the hoards of demons led by Lucifer 50:28 sitting at the gates of death. 50:32 You know, in the book of Hebrews it says 50:34 that this great demon - Satan - has the power of death. 50:39 It says that in Hebrews. 50:42 The power over death. 50:45 But Jesus is saying: "I don't care what the devil does. " 50:50 Because there's a real devil. I don't care what the demons do. 50:55 I don't care what their machinations are. 50:59 I don't care what politicians even do here in the 51:05 United States of America to insult God to His face. 51:10 I don't care that they can throw the law of God 51:15 and the law of marriage down into the gutter. 51:19 I don't care what these people do. They may think 51:24 they are going to succeed 51:27 but nothing can overthrow the church of God. 51:31 Amen! The gates of hell shall not prevail. 51:42 I want you to know this, and when you're having a bad day: 51:50 the gates of Hades - the grave - 51:55 shall have no power over God's children 51:58 because Jesus Christ conquered death 52:02 and He is Lord of all. Amen! 52:07 Amen! I want you to know that. 52:11 I believe in the reality of the resurrection. 52:16 I don't believe in what the great Oxford atheist and 52:21 antagonist says: that this is just a fable 52:25 and a made-up story. 52:29 I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross. 52:33 I believe it is history. 52:35 I don't believe it because it makes me feel good. 52:40 My faith is not built upon fables. 52:44 My faith is built upon the truth. 52:49 I believe it is the truth that Christ lived among us. 52:53 Even Dawkins says: "Yes, there was a Jesus. " 52:59 And on the Sunday the unbeliever has a problem 53:03 if he doesn't want to believe in the resurrection. 53:06 And he must ask the question and answer the question 53:09 "What happened to the body? " 53:13 Think this through: what happened to the body of Christ 53:16 if He were not raised? 53:19 There are three possibilities. 53:22 The Jews took the body. 53:25 But if the Jews had the body why didn't they produce it 53:29 and destroy the church? 53:31 The best way to kill the Christian church 53:34 is with a dead Christ. 53:37 The second possibility is that the Roman soldiers got the body. 53:43 But the Romans were the great antagonists 53:47 of the Christian church. They too, like the Jews, would have 53:51 finished off the church forever by producing a dead, 53:54 decaying Christ. 53:58 The third possibility is that the disciples stormed the tomb, 54:05 attacked the Roman soldiers, overcame them, 54:08 and got the body. 54:11 Nobody in his right mind would believe that nonsense. 54:16 But there is another possibility we have not discussed 54:20 and that is this: that the body was nowhere to be found 54:23 because the body was raised from the dead. 54:26 Amen! And the body is safe home in glory. 54:32 Now years ago when I conducted a great campaign 54:37 in Nizhny Novgorod we had a magnificent choir. 54:42 It was led by a most beautiful girl whose name was Anna 54:46 with long black hair. 54:49 And when I went back to Russia six months after the campaign 54:52 to see how the people were doing 54:54 I was asked to go to the hospital on a very cold, cold, 54:59 cold day and visit Anna because Anna was dying. 55:03 Anna had just given birth to two little girls. 55:07 One had lived. Her name was Anna... the little baby. 55:11 But one little baby girl had died. 55:15 I went into that ward in that Russian hospital 55:18 and I discovered that she could have been saved 55:21 for $5 worth of drugs... which none of us had. 55:26 I held her hand as she died. 55:31 I buried her, as my Russian brethren and sisters had dug 55:35 a hole in the hard, hard earth. 55:40 She was buried in a cardboard box because 55:42 they had nothing else. 55:44 They painted flowers on the side of the box. 55:47 I stood there in this Russian cemetery 55:50 as the wind moaned through the trees 55:53 and the church sang hymns. 55:56 Now a large church. They sang hymns 56:00 and we talked about Christ 56:03 and that Christ is alive 56:07 and that Anna will live again. 56:10 She was buried with her little baby girl... 56:12 holding her. 56:14 I told the people: "This is not the end. " 56:20 Because Jesus said: 56:24 "You are Peter, and on this Rock 56:27 I will build My church 56:30 and the gates of hell 56:34 will not prevail against it. " 56:40 Amen and amen. 56:45 Let me bring you to God in prayer. 56:47 Would you please bow your heads? 56:50 Oh my Father, we thank you that the true church 56:55 of the Living God is not built upon a man 56:59 or a dead saint. 57:02 But the true church is built upon the living Christ. 57:06 And because He lives we, too, shall live. 57:10 We thank you that God has given to the church the keys - 57:13 the gospel - and today, our Father, we accept Christ 57:18 as our Lord and our Savior. 57:20 And we do this in Jesus' precious name, 57:25 Amen and amen and thank you Jesus. |
Revised 2024-09-12