Anchors of Truth

The Spirit - The Mighty Power

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Carter

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Series Code: AOT

Program Code: AOT000024


00:12 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
00:15 live from the Community Adventist Fellowship Church.
00:18 Present Truth with John Carter.
00:22 Well, we're really having a wonderful time here
00:24 in Los Angeles and the suburb of Arcadia California.
00:29 Los Angeles is made up of many, many cities.
00:33 And this has to be the most beautiful one.
00:36 It really does.
00:37 It is one of the warmest, sweetest, prettiest cities,
00:42 with the mountains as a backdrop.
00:43 Of course, Danny doesn't like mountains.
00:44 He says they block the view.
00:45 Well now, don't get me in trouble while I'm out here.
00:48 You have to, Paul says, be content in all things.
00:51 And so when I go, I've been to places like Switzerland,
00:54 and people say, "Look at these mountains.
00:56 Why don't you live in a place like this
00:58 or Southern California?"
00:59 And I say, "Well you know, mountains are okay.
01:00 But they block my view. I can't see anything."
01:03 So that's just a way of living with it, you see.
01:06 Well I tell you, if you want to see some beautiful homes,
01:08 just drive down Santa Anita and look off to the side,
01:12 those different streets, and you will see some
01:15 very beautiful places.
01:17 None of which I could afford to live in, I guarantee you.
01:21 There's a lot of beautiful people right here in this church
01:23 and watching from around the world.
01:25 And thank you for joining us at 3ABN.
01:28 And this is live programming most of the day, right?
01:31 Yes it is.
01:32 And tonight, we're going to have a Pillars concert.
01:34 And so we've got lots of things happening;
01:36 two services this morning.
01:37 And we do thank you for your love and your prayers
01:40 and financial support of 3ABN as we endeavor to take this
01:43 gospel into all the world.
01:45 You know I said last night, I announced the wrong time.
01:48 The music program is at 6:30 Pacific Daylight Time tonight.
01:54 An hour and a half program.
01:55 And you will want to be here, because we are looking forward
02:01 to just really being blessed by the musicians that are
02:03 here that are part of our team.
02:06 All of which are musicians except for me.
02:10 And I will enjoy listening tonight.
02:15 Well listen, we have been so thrilled with Pastor Carter's
02:19 presentations on present truth.
02:22 And he's going to be speaking today on the
02:24 power of the Spirit.
02:26 And Danny Shelton will be introducing him
02:29 just a little bit later.
02:30 But just before we go to the rest of our program,
02:34 Pastor Murray, would you lead us in prayer.
02:36 I'd be glad to do so.
02:38 Gracious Father, we praise and thank You for the blessings
02:42 of this holy Sabbath day.
02:45 We thank You Lord, that You have erected this temple in time,
02:50 as it were, whereby we can cast off even for a little while
02:55 the cares of the world and its perplexities,
02:59 and sit in heavenly places.
03:02 We thank You for this church, we thank You for this message,
03:05 we thank You for this ministry, we thank You for this
03:08 opportunity to yet again lift up the mighty and matchless
03:13 name of Jesus.
03:14 We thank You for the power in that name.
03:17 And we thank You that You have promised to be the honored
03:21 guest in this place on this day when the people of God
03:25 assemble themselves together.
03:27 And so Father, come now and sup with us.
03:30 Teach us those things that You would have us to know.
03:33 Be the center and circumference of the preaching, the singing,
03:38 the worship, and the praise.
03:40 Accept, Lord, our worship and praise.
03:43 And in exchange for these, give us Your presence
03:47 and Your power.
03:48 And bless us as we take one more step this day
03:52 along the road that leads to glory.
03:55 Hold to us tightly and feed us from Your table.
03:59 We love You Lord, we praise You.
04:01 And we thank You for what You're going to do this day
04:04 in answer to the prayer of faith.
04:06 In Jesus' name, amen.
04:09 Well Danny, you are very well acquainted
04:12 with the one who will bring us music this morning.
04:14 Would you like to tell us a little bit about her?
04:17 I would, I going to invite my daughter, Melody.
04:18 This is my baby daughter, and a mother of eight.
04:23 And so Melody, it's good to have you here.
04:26 And Melody, this past year people see her and they say,
04:29 "Where's Melody?"
04:30 And 110 pounds of Melody is gone somewhere.
04:34 And so she's done so well and really been working hard
04:38 in the last, what's it been, over year or so.
04:41 And so I praise the Lord for Melody and for
04:44 her love for Jesus.
04:45 And when she was born, the doctors told us it
04:49 was going to be a boy.
04:50 They didn't do the ultrasounds back then.
04:52 Way back in 19...
04:54 She told me not to tell her age.
04:56 We both hit marks each time to get to 20, 30, 40, 50.
05:00 We each get these certain, and Melody and I both hit
05:04 one of those miles stones.
05:05 But she doesn't want me to tell you which one it is,
05:07 though mine is 60 and hers sure wasn't 50 or 30.
05:10 And so it's somewhere in between and I won't tell you
05:14 what it is because she never wants me to tell her age.
05:17 But if I were that young, I'd be proud of it, wouldn't you.
05:20 I'd be bragging about it.
05:22 But when she was born, the doctors thought she was
05:25 going to be a boy.
05:26 The doctor, I should say.
05:27 When we found out it was a girl, we didn't have a name.
05:30 So I asked her Mother Kay, "What are we going to name this baby?"
05:33 She said, "Let's think about it and pray about it."
05:35 So at that time, she and my brother Tommy and I,
05:37 we had a little trio and we travelled on a
05:39 diesel greyhound bus.
05:40 And we were traveling doing gospel music.
05:42 And so the next morning I went back, and she said,
05:45 "Let's name her Melody as in music, and Dawn as the
05:49 dawn of new music in the Shelton home."
05:51 So that's what we did and we dedicated her to the Lord.
05:55 We said, "Lord, we'll raise her in an atmosphere free of
05:57 any other type of music in our home if you'll give her
06:00 and bless her with musical gifts and abilities."
06:04 And God has done that.
06:05 So Melody, we give the honor and praise to God,
06:07 but thank you for being here.
06:08 And this is your first time away from the babies,
06:10 the littlest ones, right?
06:11 Yes, away from Faith.
06:14 How are you doing so far?
06:15 Baby Faith is three, right? Going on four.
06:17 So it's the first time you've been away from her.
06:19 Hi, baby Faith, if you're watching this morning.
06:21 Papa loves you. Remember, you're Papa girl.
06:25 You've got to get them while they're young, you know.
06:26 That's what I do.
06:27 Alright, thank you Melody.
06:45 They say what doesn't kill us makes us strong,
06:52 and I've heard it's always darkest before the dawn.
07:00 But all I know is that God's promises are true,
07:07 and He only wants what's best for you.
07:14 We have this hope that all hurting will be gone.
07:21 We have this hope that all tears will be left behind.
07:29 I know down here life is hard and the world is so unkind,
07:37 but hold on, because we have this hope.
07:47 Every one of us has heartaches and trials,
07:54 just remember we're only here for a short while.
08:02 Sometimes I feel I've had more than my share,
08:10 but He won't give us more than we can bear.
08:16 We have this hope that all hurting will be gone.
08:23 We have this hope that all tears will be left behind.
08:32 I know down here life is hard and the world is so unkind,
08:39 but hold on, because we have this hope.
08:46 And this hope for us is Jesus.
08:59 So hold on, because we have this hope.
09:25 Thank you Melody. That was beautiful.
09:27 It's my privilege now to introduce Pastor John Carter.
09:31 And Elder Carter is a long time friend
09:35 and I respect this man tremendously, in the Lord.
09:38 I have seen, I have travelled different places with him
09:40 around the world, particularly Russia,
09:42 and seen the gift that God has given him,
09:44 and literally the thousands and thousands of souls.
09:47 Only eternity will tell of the value of the ministry
09:52 of Elder John and Beverly Carter when we get to heaven.
09:56 Because I know that there are people that will come up,
09:58 we need heaven for an eternity because I think people will
10:01 be coming up to him for an eternity saying,
10:03 "I saw you on 3ABN," "I saw you in Africa,"
10:06 "I saw you in Australia," "I saw you in Russia,"
10:08 "and because of your ministry, I accepted Jesus Christ
10:12 as Lord and Savior."
10:13 Anchors Of Truth right here in The Carter Report church.
10:17 Elder Carter, thank you so much for allowing the
10:20 3ABN team to be here.
10:21 God bless you.
10:23 We are delighted that you're here.
10:25 At our stage in life, we should be delighted to be anywhere.
10:28 Anywhere, that's right.
10:30 As long as we're vertical and not horizontal, right?
10:32 Absolutely, yea not lying down.
10:35 You were talking about Russia. Remember '92?
10:39 I do remember '92.
10:40 We saw the glory of God.
10:41 We did.
10:42 We saw the outpouring of the Spirit of God.
10:44 We saw people literally busting down doorways
10:48 to get in to meetings.
10:49 7,000 at a time.
10:51 We had to get, you remember, police with German Shepherd dogs
10:56 to keep people out of the facilities.
10:58 That was the KGB guys in their black suits.
11:01 Imagine, the KGB were our deacons.
11:04 Yeah. Yeah well, it's true.
11:06 Glory be to God.
11:07 And they also brought out trucks and tents for the baptism.
11:09 Yes I know. That's amazing.
11:10 The army set up for the baptism.
11:12 They served as the deacons.
11:13 And you spoke to groups of hundreds, almost a thousand KGB.
11:17 You actually went to their headquarters and spoke,
11:20 and saw hundreds of them accepting Christ.
11:22 And yet, you know Danny, the greatest days are still to come.
11:26 Amen, that's wonderful.
11:28 And by the grace of God, you with your team
11:31 and The Carter Report team are going to go back
11:34 for the twentieth year celebration next year.
11:38 I'm all for it, I'm all for it. That's wonderful.
11:40 And we'll look for some great and mightily things to happen.
11:42 Praise God. God bless you today.
11:44 Great to see you, my brother. God bless you.
11:46 Aren't you glad the 3ABN folks are with us today?
11:52 I just really love these folks.
11:58 Today, I'm going to talk for a little while about the
12:00 power of the Holy Spirit.
12:03 I want to say to the television audience watching around
12:06 the world, we have a vast and wonderful audience,
12:09 I want to give you the warmest welcome from my heart to yours.
12:13 How do you explain please, the following, please explain this.
12:19 Ten thousand Russians at 5 o'clock,
12:22 sullen, morose, and lost, so angry they would not
12:26 lift up their eyes so I could look into their eyes
12:29 and talk to them.
12:31 And an hour later, ten thousand Russians raising their
12:35 hands and praising God, filled with the Spirit of God.
12:38 How do you explain that except for the Spirit of God.
12:42 I believe with all my heart in the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
12:47 I believe He is alive and well on planet earth.
12:51 How do you explain this?
12:54 30,000 Hindu's and Muslim's coming forward in an altar call.
13:02 Now people tell us it can't happen.
13:05 It does happen.
13:06 30,000 Muslim's, the untouchables,
13:10 Hindu's coming forward in an altar call.
13:13 I saw something there, Elder Gilley,
13:16 that I'd never seen before.
13:19 As I started to pray...
13:22 You've seen the wind blow through the wheat fields.
13:25 I've seen this in Australia.
13:27 The wind, not in the willows, but the wind in the wheat.
13:31 And I noticed way up on the right hand side,
13:34 so far I could hardly see, people broke out
13:38 spontaneously in prayer.
13:40 And then the prayer and the praise swept around
13:45 the audience like this.
13:47 It just moved through the audience.
13:49 You could actually see the people moving with the
13:52 Spirit of God, and then came right down the front
13:54 where I was standing.
13:56 And people in the front were praising God;
13:59 Hindu's and Muslim's.
14:01 How do you explain that?
14:03 It's not a preacher, my friend.
14:07 It's not a person who's got great psychological talent, no.
14:11 It is the power of the Spirit of God.
14:15 I think of the assassin in Manila who followed a victim
14:19 all day long with a knife and a gun.
14:23 And he was going to do him in at the meetings.
14:29 Later, he wrote me a letter.
14:30 He said, "I came to kill a man tonight."
14:33 But he said, "As I heard the word of God,
14:36 something spoke to my heart and I could not kill the man.
14:43 Instead, I came forward in the altar call."
14:46 And we baptized him.
14:48 How do you explain that?
14:49 How do you explain people on death row;
14:52 assassins and murderers?
14:56 And when I'm preaching to them, I'm asked to preach to them,
15:00 and I'm preaching no better or worse than what I'm doing now.
15:04 So it is not something marvelous in itself.
15:08 But there was something marvelous there;
15:10 the Spirit of God.
15:12 And as I spoke to those men who were on death row
15:15 and made an appeal, every hand was raised.
15:19 And then the prisoners gazing in through the bars
15:23 broke down and cried and raised their hands.
15:26 And Pastor Graeme Bradford, my buddy from Australia,
15:30 and I led them into an adjoining room and we baptized them
15:35 in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
15:39 How do you explain this?
15:41 I want you to know today on the authority of scripture
15:45 and from what my eyes have seen, the Holy Spirit is alive
15:51 and well on planet earth.
15:54 I want you to take the Bible.
15:55 And as you folks know, I'm just a plain
15:58 old fashioned Bible preacher.
16:01 I want you to come over here to John chapter 16.
16:05 John chapter 16 verse 5 and onwards.
16:08 I want you to know today...
16:10 Would you look at me for a moment.
16:13 I want, please hold up your Bibles.
16:16 Hold them up high and say this:
16:17 This is my Bible.
16:20 This is God's word.
16:23 God has a message for me today.
16:28 This message will make me a better person,
16:34 and give me everlasting life.
16:38 I now open my heart to receive God's word.
16:44 In Jesus' name, amen and amen.
16:48 Say amen again.
16:50 And praise the Lord.
16:53 And it's 9 o'clock in the morning in Los Angeles,
16:56 and this is a miracle in itself.
16:59 It's a miracle I'm here, folks.
17:01 John 16 verse 5 and onwards.
17:04 After we've driven the freeways in this city of the angels...
17:08 Nobody ever tells you which angels they're talking about.
17:11 But after you've driven the freeways in the city
17:13 of the angels, you like to sleep in a little bit
17:17 on Sabbath mornings.
17:19 Don't you?
17:20 Yea, of course you do. Of course you do.
17:26 "Now I am going to Him who sent Me, yet none of you asks Me,
17:31 'Where are you going?'
17:33 Because I have said these things,
17:35 you are filled with grief."
17:36 Or KJV, "Sorrow hath filled your hearts."
17:40 "But I tell you the truth; it is for your good
17:43 that I am going away.
17:45 Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you;
17:49 but if I go, I will send Him to you."
17:52 Jesus didn't say, "I will send it to you."
17:55 "I will send Him to you."
17:57 "When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt
18:01 in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
18:06 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me;
18:10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father
18:15 where you can see Me no longer;
18:18 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this
18:22 world now stands condemned."
18:24 Another three verses.
18:27 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.
18:32 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will
18:35 guide you into all truth.
18:37 He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears
18:41 and He will tell you what is yet to come.
18:44 He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine
18:48 and making it known to you."
18:53 We are talking here, my friend, about a tremendous personality,
18:59 and a person.
19:01 Many, many years ago, before they thought about
19:05 thermal power or wind power or any of those other powers,
19:10 there were two business men standing at Niagara Falls.
19:14 One man said to the other, "This is the greatest untapped
19:18 source of power in the whole of the United States."
19:23 The other business man said, "It is a great source
19:26 of power, it is true.
19:27 But the greatest untapped source of power
19:31 in the United States and in the world
19:33 is the power of the Holy Spirit."
19:37 And the greatest need of the church and the greatest need
19:42 of the world is for the coming of the Spirit of God.
19:49 The Holy Spirit, I would have you note today,
19:54 is much more than energy.
19:57 There was a time when people thought the Holy Spirit
20:00 was an energy sent from God.
20:02 He is more than a power and more than an influence.
20:06 I want you to come over now to the book of Romans
20:10 that Tyndale called, "Good, glad, and merry tidings."
20:14 Romans 8, "Good, glad, and merry tidings that makes
20:18 a man's heart to sing for joy and his feet to dance."
20:24 Or as the British say, "his feet to dance."
20:28 Romans 8 and verse 15.
20:34 "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave
20:37 again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.
20:42 And by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'
20:46 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit
20:51 that we are children of God."
20:53 Did you know, as John Wesley said, "The highest proof of
20:58 Christianity is the inner witness."
21:02 "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit
21:05 that we are children of God."
21:07 If you are a child of God, you will know that
21:10 you have passed from death unto life.
21:12 Because the Spirit of God will testify with your spirit.
21:16 Do He so testify with you today, I ask you?
21:19 Now come down a little further and notice please
21:24 verses 26 and 27.
21:25 Notice He is called a person.
21:28 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
21:32 We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself
21:37 intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
21:43 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit,
21:49 because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance
21:53 with the will of God."
21:57 He has the characteristics of a person.
22:10 And Jesus, our blessed Lord, distinctly, a score of times
22:16 calls the Holy Spirit, Him or Whom.
22:21 He calls Him a person.
22:24 Notice John chapter 14 verses 16-18 in the word of God.
22:30 Jesus said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone,
22:33 but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"
22:44 "And I will ask the Father," now He's a person,
22:47 "and He will give you another Counselor to be with you
22:51 forever; the Spirit of truth.
22:53 The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him
22:57 nor knows Him.
22:59 But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you."
23:04 He is a person.
23:07 And then Jesus our Lord said, "I will not leave you as orphans;
23:11 I will come to you. "
23:13 And if you come now to verses 26 and 27
23:17 of the same chapter, dear hearts and gentle people.
23:21 "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
23:25 will send in My name."
23:27 There you have the blessed Trinity.
23:29 I'm a Trinitarian.
23:31 "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
23:35 will send in My name, will teach you all things
23:40 and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
23:43 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.
23:46 I do not give to you as the world gives.
23:49 Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
23:54 The Holy Spirit is the Comforter and He is the Counselor.
24:01 The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead.
24:06 The Holy Spirit is equal to God.
24:10 He is, as the theologians say, of the same nature
24:15 and the same essence as God is.
24:20 Would you come over here to the book of
24:21 Acts chapter 5 verses 3 and 4.
24:26 Acts chapter 5 verses 3 and 4.
24:33 Sometimes, you see, because we think the Holy Spirit
24:36 is a person, we are anxious to get the Holy Spirit
24:40 and to use this power.
24:42 We should not try to get the Holy Spirit to use this power,
24:46 we should seek to be used by God, the Holy Spirit.
24:51 That's the difference.
24:53 Look at Acts chapter 5 verses 3 and 4.
24:56 Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has
25:00 so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit."
25:05 You don't lie to a thing, you lie to a person.
25:10 And then the next verse says, "And have kept for yourself
25:14 some of the money you received for the land?
25:16 Didn't it belong to you before it was sold?
25:19 And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal?
25:23 What made you think of doing such a thing?
25:25 You have not lied to men, but to..." Whom?
25:28 So you've lied to the Holy Spirit and you have lied to God.
25:34 And so I believe in the doctrine of the Trinity.
25:37 I believe in God the Father,
25:41 and God the Son,
25:43 and God the Holy Spirit.
25:46 And Jesus, of course, taught this.
25:48 If you come over here to Matthew chapter 28
25:51 and verse 19 in the word of God.
25:53 Matthew 28 and verse 19.
25:59 I want you to see this text in the word of the living God.
26:05 Isn't it great here in Los Angeles at 20 past 9
26:10 on Sabbath morning when most people in Los Angeles
26:14 are not even aware what day it is because they're sound asleep.
26:21 Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
26:26 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
26:31 and of the Holy Spirit."
26:33 Jesus did not say, "Baptize them in the names."
26:38 He didn't say plural.
26:40 We do not worship three Gods.
26:43 We worship one great God.
26:45 And this great God is manifested in the Father and of the Son
26:52 and of the Holy Spirit.
26:54 They are equal, but they are distinct.
26:58 Now people have said this to me everywhere,
27:01 "I cannot understand the Trinity and I will not believe in
27:06 something I cannot understand."
27:10 I want you to know, there are many things
27:13 that I do not understand.
27:16 But I still believe in them.
27:18 I don't understand what electricity is,
27:22 but I believe in it and I use it.
27:25 I don't understand the theory of relativity,
27:28 E=mc2, but I believe it.
27:34 And of course, Einstein was the person who gave us
27:38 the theory of relativity that, of course, we all have
27:43 some knowledge of today.
27:46 Einstein, when he discovered the theory of relativity,
27:50 travelled around the United States of America
27:53 going from university to university and giving the most
27:59 amazing, the most complicated, the most profound talk.
28:06 And he would talk before these scientists, great scholars,
28:09 some of the worlds greatest minds.
28:12 And he had a chauffeur who use to drive him
28:16 from one university after another.
28:19 And the chauffeur was just a very humble man,
28:23 hardly been to school at all.
28:24 But he could talk alright.
28:26 He probably made it through primary school,
28:28 maybe even high school.
28:30 And one night, Dr. Einstein was really worn out.
28:34 Do you know the feeling?
28:36 Another meeting.
28:38 So he was absolutely dragging it.
28:41 Now the chauffeur had heard the talk a hundred times
28:44 and he memorized it.
28:48 And he said, "Look, you're really looking
28:51 bad tonight, Dr. Einstein."
28:53 He said, "I know the talk, why don't you go and sit down
28:56 in the back as the chauffeur.
29:00 Why don't you sit down in the back."
29:02 Because the chauffeur always use to sit there in the back.
29:04 And he said, "I'll go up to the front and I'll give the talk."
29:07 So he came up to the front and he gave the talk.
29:11 Just like a parrot.
29:13 He got everything right.
29:15 He spoke about the theory of relativity and he
29:18 got through perfectly.
29:19 And when he was through, nobody knew any different.
29:23 Because nobody in those days knew Dr. Einstein.
29:25 They didn't know how he looked.
29:27 And so when the chauffeur got through the talk on relativity,
29:34 Dr. Einstein was sitting down in the back,
29:37 everything was fine until a famous professor got up.
29:42 He said, "I'd like to ask the learned
29:44 Dr. Einstein a question."
29:50 And then he asked the question.
29:52 You know, this equals this and all these
29:54 mathematical equations.
29:57 And the chauffeur stood there for a bit.
30:00 And then a light went on in his mind.
30:03 And he said, looking this famous scientist in the eye,
30:07 he said, "That's a very good question."
30:10 "But," he said, "it is really so simple, I'm going to ask my
30:15 chauffeur sitting down in the back to come up here
30:17 and answer it for you."
30:23 Now listen folks, there may be a lot of things that
30:27 you and I don't understand.
30:32 They're too big for us to understand.
30:35 But we believe them because these things
30:39 are the truths of God.
30:42 So I believe in the Trinity and I believe in the
30:45 work of the Holy Spirit.
30:48 Let's talk now about the work of the Holy Spirit.
30:52 During my first year at Avondale College,
30:54 I was a boy who had just turned 16 years of age.
30:57 I was a very restless teenager.
31:00 And then an English preacher came to Avondale College
31:03 and we had a week of prayer.
31:05 And this preacher, Pastor Ron Vince, preached on the topic
31:09 that is seared into my mind; The God Filled Blank.
31:14 He said in every person, there is a blank,
31:17 there's an emptiness.
31:19 And only God can fill it.
31:21 And he quoted St. Augustine, "Our souls are made for God.
31:25 They cannot rest until they rest in Him."
31:28 And he read from the Bible, and I followed the text.
31:31 And I thought to myself, when he says, "There's a boy or girl
31:36 here today, and you feel empty inside,"
31:38 I thought he was talking to me.
31:41 I felt on that occasion the power of the Holy Spirit
31:48 speaking to my heart.
31:51 I felt my need of a Savior.
31:55 And then as he preached on, Tom Ludowici, a buddy of mine
31:59 at the college, explained to me the love of God.
32:04 It seemed as though I was transfixed by the power of God.
32:09 I want to tell you something.
32:10 I would walk around the campus as in a daze.
32:14 I would set out to go there and I'd end up going here.
32:18 Everybody seemed sweeter and nicer.
32:23 And the sky was bluer.
32:25 And I felt that God knew me and God loved me,
32:29 and Christ had died for me, and I owned Him.
32:34 That was the power of the Holy Spirit;
32:38 the third person of the Godhead talking to my heart.
32:41 Do you know this? I'm asking you today.
32:43 A lot of people say, "Well I can tell you
32:45 all about the doctrines."
32:46 That doesn't save you.
32:49 I've met so many people that can just rattle off
32:52 the doctrines, and they want to argue with you.
32:55 That doesn't save you.
32:57 I want to ask every person watching the telecast today,
33:00 do you know that the Holy Spirit has spoken to your heart
33:05 and led you to Christ?
33:07 And do you know in your own soul that you are a child of God?
33:12 The Spirit Himself testifies with my spirit
33:16 that I am a child of God.
33:18 I know it because the Spirit of God testifies within me.
33:23 Wesley said, "The highest proof of Christianity."
33:27 Have you got it today?
33:29 I want to say to all the folks in churches,
33:32 you know, we've got so much religion in the world,
33:35 but we've got too much religion.
33:37 What we need more is the Holy Spirit working through people.
33:44 I want you to come over here to John chapter 16
33:47 and verses 8-10.
33:50 John chapter 16 and verses 8-10.
33:57 Jesus says, "When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt
34:04 in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
34:07 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me;
34:11 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the
34:14 Father, where you can see Me no longer;
34:17 and in regard to judgment, because the prince
34:22 of this world now stands condemned."
34:25 I just want to come over to the super hi-tech blackboards.
34:30 They get more hi-tech as we get more inventions, you know,
34:34 as Steve Jobs and these guys are turning out new inventions.
34:38 But we put new coats of paint on this over here.
34:41 The Bible says that the Holy Spirit convicts.
34:46 He convicts of sin.
34:51 He convicts of righteousness.
34:55 And when He convicts us of righteousness,
35:00 we feel ourselves to be sinners.
35:05 Do you want to know how you can tell when you're
35:07 a long way from God?
35:09 When you feel righteous and that you're a goody-goody.
35:14 Because when the Holy Spirit comes and convicts us of sin,
35:19 we cry out and we say, in the words of the great writer
35:26 who wrote Amazing Grace, John Newton,
35:33 we cry out, "I can remember only two things;
35:37 I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior."
35:43 And this is brought about when the Holy Spirit convicts us
35:46 of sin and righteousness, and reveals Christ, the Lamb of God.
35:54 Later on, I became a preacher of the gospel of Jesus.
36:00 I thank God today I've been preaching the gospel
36:03 of Jesus for 50 years.
36:07 I've witnessed the Holy Spirit speaking to lost men and women.
36:13 I've seen the work of the Holy Spirit in India.
36:17 Such a tough place.
36:19 A Hindu country.
36:21 Such a tough place.
36:22 How can you explain large crowds of people
36:27 being moved by the Spirit of God and crying to God for mercy.
36:33 It is the Spirit of God and because they're
36:35 opening up their hearts.
36:37 My friend, never close your heart to the Spirit of God.
36:41 Did you know, the most dangerous place you can be,
36:45 as far as your spirituality is concerned, is in a church.
36:51 Especially if you've got a Holy Spirit anointed preacher.
36:56 Because if you say "yes" to God, you're going to be saved.
37:00 But if you say "no" to God, you are going to harden your heart.
37:05 Good preaching is either going to make the congregation
37:08 a lot better or a lot worse.
37:11 Did you know that?
37:14 And I've seen the Spirit of God work around the world.
37:18 In Russia, as Danny was telling you,
37:22 where we saw thousands come to Christ,
37:25 ten thousand at an altar call, the KGB coming forward.
37:28 In the Ukraine, in Africa, in Manila, on death row.
37:34 What can we say but, glory be to God.
37:39 I want to tell you today...
37:42 You've got to get this into your minds.
37:44 This is important.
37:46 I'm going to whisper something to you.
37:48 I don't want you to be offended.
37:51 But the hardest people to reach
37:55 are self-righteous religionists.
38:01 Almost impossible. You know why?
38:03 They say, "Oh, we know it all."
38:06 "You don't bring your Bible to church?"
38:08 "No, I don't need my Bible, don't need that anymore."
38:12 "But I can tell you about this and I can tell you about this."
38:20 The Bible says, Jesus says, He convicts of sin
38:25 and of righteousness.
38:26 And when He whispers or thunders to our hearts,
38:31 we need to follow His voice.
38:34 And if He's talking to you today in this beautiful church,
38:37 or somewhere out there in television land,
38:40 listen to the voice of the Spirit of God
38:44 and don't harden your heart.
38:47 I want you to come over here to Ephesians chapter 4.
38:51 Ephesians chapter 4, over here in the New Testament,
38:57 to the words of the great apostle Paul.
39:02 Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 30-31.
39:06 Paul says, you got it, "And do not grieve the
39:10 Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed
39:13 for the day of redemption."
39:15 Don't' grieve Him.
39:17 It's impossible to insult Him.
39:19 "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger,
39:22 brawling and slander, along with every form of malice."
39:26 Because those sins can lead us to commit the unpardonable sin.
39:32 Did you know that?
39:35 You know the old story, the boy who was playing
39:38 with the pet dove.
39:40 And he put out his hand and put out a little bit of
39:43 food for the dove.
39:45 And when the dove would come to get the little bit of food,
39:48 he'd pull his hand away.
39:50 And each time he did it, the dove was more hesitant to come.
39:55 The time came when he put out his hand and the dove came,
39:59 and he snatched his hand away.
40:01 And the dove flew away.
40:03 The Bible says, "Don't grieve the Spirit of God."
40:07 If the Spirit of God comes into this meeting today
40:10 in such a way, and if He talks to your heart,
40:14 the Bible says, don't grieve Him.
40:18 And don't hide behind a heap of religiosity.
40:23 Open up your heart to God.
40:26 I want you to come over here to Matthew chapter 12.
40:30 Matthew chapter 12, to the words of our blessed Lord.
40:34 Matthew chapter 12 and verses 30-32.
40:41 Jesus says, "He who is not with Me is against Me,
40:46 he who does not gather with Me scatters.
40:50 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men."
40:55 Thank God.
40:57 Did you hear that?
40:59 "Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men."
41:02 Murder, lying, cheating, adultery.
41:05 Every sin if it's confessed.
41:08 "But the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
41:12 Anyone who speaks a word against the
41:15 Son of Man will be forgiven."
41:16 If he confesses it.
41:17 "But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not
41:21 be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."
41:25 What does it mean?
41:29 When we were fresh out of college...
41:31 In those days, of course, when you're fresh out of college,
41:34 you know everything.
41:38 Beverly and I worked in a town in Australia
41:42 by the name of Wagga Wagga.
41:45 Now don't you folks laugh about that.
41:48 Because there are some towns here,
41:50 there's a town here in California called,
41:52 there's one of our great supporters in the
41:54 town of Rough and Ready.
41:56 Rough and Ready.
41:58 Yeah, and there's other towns.
41:59 But this place is called Wagga Wagga.
42:03 People, when they are unkind, would say Waga Waga.
42:06 But it was Wagga Wagga.
42:09 We lived beside a railway track.
42:12 And every night at midnight, the Southern Aurora came.
42:18 In those days, it was a great engine.
42:22 Huge engine, a big steamer.
42:26 And that great steamer, we use to think they were just
42:29 little old Puffing Billy's, but that steamer would
42:32 come through at 80 miles an hour and blast the whistle.
42:37 The first night, we thought it was coming through the bedroom.
42:41 You know, living next to the railway track.
42:44 The next night, it scared us also.
42:46 The next night, not quite so much.
42:50 Within a week, the Southern Aurora would come
42:53 pounding and roaring through, and we slept like babies.
43:00 Had the train changed?
43:04 No, we had adapted.
43:07 We'd closed our ears.
43:10 We had hardened our hearing.
43:13 That's the unpardonable sin.
43:15 When a person keeps hardening and hardening and hardening
43:19 his heart, until he comes to the place where the Spirit of God
43:23 is talking to him, and he doesn't hear anymore.
43:29 That's dangerous.
43:31 So the Bible tells us, today if you will hear His voice,
43:36 don't harden your hearts.
43:39 Now, if somebody is sitting here in our beautiful church in
43:43 beautiful southern California, or you're sitting out there
43:46 watching this telecast on 3ABN, and the Spirit of God
43:50 is talking to you,
43:57 stop now and say, "God, I'm going to open my heart
44:02 and I'm going to be obedient to your voice.
44:05 I'm going to do what You tell me to do."
44:11 The work of the Holy Spirit is to magnify the name of Jesus
44:18 and empower the church to proclaim the blessed gospel.
44:22 Now I want you to come over here to John 14 and verse 26,
44:27 because this text says something that sometimes
44:31 we don't take any notice of.
44:33 John chapter 14 and verse 26, dear hearts and gentle people.
44:40 John 14:26
44:43 "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
44:48 will send in My name, will teach you all things
44:52 and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
45:00 Look at me.
45:02 The Holy Spirit doesn't talk about Himself.
45:07 The Holy Spirit talks about Jesus.
45:10 Have you met people who say, "I'm filled with
45:13 the Holy Ghost," and then all they do is
45:15 talk about themselves?
45:19 They have the wrong spirit.
45:24 If you want to find a church where you're going to be
45:27 blessed by God, go into a church that is filled with
45:31 the Holy Spirit that magnifies the name of Jesus,
45:35 that doesn't magnify itself.
45:39 You want to know the difference between the
45:41 true church and a cult?
45:43 The true church is all about Jesus
45:46 and a cult is all about itself.
45:52 But the Holy Spirit, the Bible tells me,
45:55 magnifies the name of Jesus.
45:59 I want you to notice some superlative texts now
46:04 in the Old Testament book of Joel;
46:07 which means, Jehovah is God.
46:10 So please turn to the Bible the book of Joel.
46:14 Daniel, Hosea, Joel. Chapter 2.
46:20 Now this is a Bible reading church,
46:22 this is a Bible believing church.
46:24 When we come to this church, we don't come here
46:26 to be entertained.
46:28 We come here to be saved.
46:30 And we bring our Bibles.
46:31 We're in earnest in this church.
46:33 Joel chapter 2 verse 23.
46:40 Daniel, Hosea, Joel.
46:44 That's a minor prophet with a major message.
46:46 It's over towards the close of the Old Testament.
46:49 I can see some of you folks have never turned to it before.
46:52 Joel chapter 2 verse 23.
46:55 "Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God,
46:59 for He has given you the autumn rains in righteousness.
47:03 He sends you abundant showers, both autumn
47:06 and spring rains, as before.
47:08 The threshing floors will be filled with grain."
47:12 Because the Spirit is coming.
47:14 "The vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
47:17 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.'"
47:21 God is going to restore.
47:23 "The great locust and the young locust,
47:26 the other locusts and the locust swarm,
47:29 My great army that I sent among you.
47:31 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
47:34 and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,"
47:37 Yahweh Elohim.
47:38 "who has worked wonders for you;
47:40 never again will My people be shamed."
47:43 God is going to redeem the past and the failures of the past.
47:49 "Then you will know that I am in Israel,
47:52 that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other;
47:55 never again will My people be shamed.
47:58 And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people.
48:03 Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
48:05 your old men will dream dreams,
48:08 your young men will see visions."
48:10 Can you say amen?
48:11 "Even on my servants, both men and women."
48:14 Women too, folks.
48:16 You see?
48:18 God is no respecter of persons.
48:20 You go into some countries and women are second class citizens.
48:24 That's because they don't understand the
48:26 gospel of the Bible.
48:28 You see?
48:29 We won't get onto that subject.
48:31 But at least I've got the ladies on my side.
48:33 Verse 29, "Even on My servants, both men and women,
48:37 I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
48:39 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth,
48:43 blood and fire and billows of smoke.
48:46 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood
48:50 before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."
48:54 This is talking about the end.
48:55 "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved;
48:59 for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
49:02 there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said,
49:05 among the survivors whom the Lord calls."
49:08 So the Bible says, listen to me, the Bible says...
49:13 I'm going to put it up here on the hi-tech.
49:18 And if any of you folks watching out in television land
49:21 want to get some of these hi-tech blackboards,
49:26 write to me with an offering for 3ABN
49:29 and I'll tell you the secret.
49:32 The Bible tells me, the rain, the rain is coming.
49:42 God is going to do a work of glory and a work of wonder,
49:48 and He's going to pour out the Holy Spirit.
49:50 I want you to know it, folks.
49:52 And I have seen it.
49:54 Look at Joel chapter 3 verse 12 and onwards.
49:56 "Let the nations be roused."
49:59 They're getting roused today.
50:01 "Let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
50:04 for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.
50:08 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
50:12 Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full
50:16 and the vats overflow, so great is their wickedness!
50:20 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
50:27 For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision."
50:33 In the last great day when the nations are angry,
50:37 I want you to know this, the rain is coming.
50:41 The greatest need, let me talk to you about it.
50:44 It's not more money.
50:46 We need money.
50:47 3ABN needs money.
50:49 Those of you who believe in the preaching of the gospel,
50:53 put your dollars into God's work before the
50:56 dollar is worth nothing.
50:58 I'm telling you that.
50:59 Don't hold onto it.
51:01 The way it's going at present, it's going to be too late soon.
51:06 Our greatest need is for this rain; the coming of the Spirit.
51:12 In the world, sin is barefaced today.
51:18 On television, sin is barefaced.
51:21 In the church, sin is two-faced.
51:28 And the greatest need of the church,
51:31 the greatest of the world,
51:34 is for the coming of the Spirit of God.
51:37 As the world hurdles to destruction,
51:40 the church is asleep.
51:45 We should never have to beg for money.
51:51 It is the responsibility of the church to aggressively
51:56 take the gospel of Christ to every nation,
52:00 kindred, tongue, and people.
52:01 And to preach the Word with power.
52:04 We do not want preachers who are whispering hopes.
52:12 We don't need a whispering hope.
52:15 We need the voice of the prophets of God.
52:18 Because the rain is coming.
52:22 Our watchword has been for too long, "Business as usual."
52:26 "I just want to hold on until retirement."
52:28 I want to tell you folks something; that's over.
52:32 The rain is coming.
52:35 I want you to come over here to Revelation 18:1.
52:38 Aren't you glad you got up early this morning?
52:42 I've got another meeting coming on at 11 o'clock.
52:46 This is my quiet meeting.
52:51 The fireworks are at 11 o'clock.
52:56 As I said, we don't need a whispering hope.
52:58 You know that song, Whispering Hope?
53:00 Well, we don't want to be singing that.
53:02 We need the voice of God.
53:05 "After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven.
53:08 He had great authority, and the earth was
53:11 illuminated by his splendor."
53:14 From sea to shining sea.
53:17 The rain is coming.
53:20 Now I'm here today to testify.
53:23 I'm not an armchair theologian.
53:26 I testify I've seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
53:30 You can't come and tell me that what I'm saying today
53:32 is not true, because I have seen it, I testify.
53:36 I testify.
53:38 And people have come with me, like Danny Shelton;
53:40 they testify.
53:42 It'll happen again on a world wide scale with wonders,
53:46 signs, miracles, and the powerful preaching
53:48 of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
53:51 Because the rain is coming.
53:55 How can we ever forget what happened in '92,
53:59 as Danny referred to it, in Nizhny Novgorod.
54:02 Everybody told us, "It can't happen, it won't happen."
54:07 That is because they had no faith.
54:11 When people stormed the Palace of Sports, broke down the doors.
54:16 In those days, we gauged the success of a meeting
54:20 by the number of doors that were shattered.
54:23 And in a good meeting, we would have at least
54:25 a dozen or 20 doors smashed.
54:28 We prayed for the smashing of the doors.
54:34 How can you explain Ukraine?
54:37 100,000 people turned away from the meeting.
54:42 30,000 inside in two sessions,
54:45 100,000 outside in one session turned away.
54:49 And people running down in front raising their hands, common.
54:54 Look at this.
54:55 100,000 people, they went as far as the streets would carry them.
55:00 The Ukrainian government called a national emergency
55:04 and closed down the railway system.
55:07 You know why?
55:08 Because the rain is coming.
55:11 That's why.
55:13 Don't talk to me about little things and small things,
55:17 and say, "Oh, God just wants us to be quiet."
55:20 Hey, the rain is coming.
55:24 And don't stand and try to stop it, my friend,
55:27 or else you may be like the prelate who said,
55:30 "John Carter will preach in the Palace of Sports in Kiev
55:34 over my dead body."
55:38 He said that eight days before the campaign.
55:40 He said they would stop it.
55:45 He dropped dead. Young, healthy, strong.
55:49 We saw the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
55:54 We did not wish to see him die.
55:56 But don't fight the Spirit of God.
55:59 Because the rain is coming.
56:02 And what we need to be doing in the church today,
56:04 we need to be praying for the Holy Spirit
56:07 to reveal our sins.
56:10 And we need to pray that God is going to raise up preachers
56:14 of the gospel filled with the Holy Ghost.
56:19 We need to pray for the anointing of the Spirit of God.
56:27 We need to pray that we might be filled with the Spirit of God.
56:34 He convicts of sin, righteousness,
56:36 judgment to come.
56:39 But my message to you is this.
56:41 Never forget it.
56:44 The rain is coming.
56:46 And I stand here today and I testify that Jesus is alive.
56:52 I testify that I believe in the blessed Trinity.
56:56 I testify that I have seen the latter rain.
57:03 Let me pray with you.
57:04 Dear Father, we praise You, we bless You.
57:09 Thank You for what You are doing, that You are so great.
57:13 Speak to our hearts.
57:15 Bless the great congregation, the vast crowds watching now.
57:20 We open our hearts to You.
57:22 We pray, our Father, fill us with the Holy Spirit.
57:25 In Jesus' name, amen.


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Revised 2014-12-17