Participants: Pr. John Carter
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001201
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00:01 I want to give you just the warmest welcome today,
00:03 to our viewers around the world 00:05 across this great land of United States 00:07 down into Australia, 00:09 up there in Canada right around the world. 00:11 And also to the home audience 00:15 because you folks look so good today. 00:18 I want to thank you for coming. 00:20 The topic today is "More Hot Potatoes." 00:25 And we have some potatoes here today 00:30 and I'd like to think that they were hot 00:33 but anyhow we have some hot potatoes here today. 00:37 We had a program entitled, 00:39 "Hot Potatoes" some months ago. 00:41 It was so successful, 00:43 we decided that we'd have another program 00:46 and we would call it "More Hot Potatoes." 00:50 I'm going to take today a number of telephone calls 00:54 and we have somebody who's going to give us 00:57 a question right now on the telephone. 01:01 Hi Pastor Carter, this is Monica. 01:04 I was baptized 27 years ago 01:07 in the name of Jesus 01:08 into the church of the living God. 01:11 Would you suggest I get re-baptized 01:13 in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? 01:17 Monica, thank you so much for the question today. 01:20 Let me read it again, 01:23 27 years ago I was baptized in the name of Jesus 01:26 into the church of the living God. 01:28 Would you suggest I get re-baptized 01:30 in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? 01:34 Monica, baptism doesn't save. 01:39 Do I believe in baptizing people, 01:41 of course I do. 01:43 But the right of baptism doesn't save. 01:48 I believe that when a person is saved, 01:50 he ought to be baptized. 01:52 Would you come with me in the scriptures, 01:54 my friends and the home audience? 01:56 Over here to 1 Corinthians 1 01:59 and we have a great home audience here today 02:03 in our church at 100 West Duarte road, 02:06 Arcadia, California 02:07 which is the best church you can ever attend. 02:11 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul says, 02:14 "For Christ did not send me to baptize, 02:17 but to preach the gospel-- not with words of human wisdom, 02:22 lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." 02:25 So he said Christ didn't send him to baptize 02:30 but to preach the gospel. 02:32 But then in verse 16 he says, 02:34 "Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, 02:38 beyond that, I don't remember 02:39 if I baptized anyone else." 02:43 So baptism is not the most important thing, 02:46 the most important thing is your relationship to Christ. 02:51 The Bible does teach on occasions re-baptisms. 02:56 If you turn to the Book of Acts 19:3-5, 03:02 it tells about how some people were baptized 03:05 into John the Baptist baptism 03:09 but later on they were baptized in the name of the Jesus 03:13 when they got more light from God. 03:16 Now if you come over now to Mathew 28:19, 20 03:21 you have our Lord telling us 03:23 how people ought to get baptize. 03:25 Mathew 28:19, 20 03:29 "When Jesus came to them and said, 03:31 'All authority in heaven 03:33 and on earth has been given to me. 03:35 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, 03:38 baptizing them in the name of the Father 03:41 and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 03:44 teaching them to observe all things. 03:47 A person ought to be baptized 03:50 in the name of the blessed Trinity. 03:55 And what you need to do, 03:56 Monica is make this a matter of prayer 03:58 and ask God to reveal to you His will 04:02 so that you will do what He wants you to do. 04:06 Let's have the next question, please. 04:09 Hi Pastor Carter and my name is Cynthia 04:11 and I have a question for you. 04:13 I know that God knows what I'm thinking. 04:15 Can Satan also read our minds? 04:19 Thank you so much, Cynthia. 04:21 I was reading in Time Magazine 04:22 and Newsweek that scientist are working 04:25 on a machine to read people's minds. 04:28 That's a little bit scary, isn't it? 04:32 I don't think Satan can read our minds 04:35 but he's super smart. 04:38 And often he knows what we're thinking by the way we look 04:43 and by what we're doing. 04:46 But there's one thing that is very, very clear in the Bible 04:50 and that is this, "God can read our minds." 04:53 Would you come over here to John 2:25, 04:57 God knows everything I've thought, 05:00 He knows what I'm thinking now. 05:03 Sitting here in church, He knows what you're thinking. 05:06 He knows what I'm thinking. 05:09 John 2:25, it says of Jesus, 05:13 "He did not need man's testimony about man, 05:17 for He knew what was in a man." 05:21 The Bible tells me God knows everything about us 05:25 and He loves us just the same. 05:29 Now there's another person on the line. 05:31 Hello Pastor Carter. My name is Robert. 05:33 And I have a question for you. 05:35 It is now 2012 and most of us know 05:38 that it is another election year in the United States. 05:42 We often hear Christians talking about whether the church 05:45 should have more influence in the government, 05:47 especially in regards 05:49 to moral and social issues of today. 05:52 Could you please give me the biblical view 05:54 on this very important issue of church and state. 05:57 Thanks, Pastor Carter. 05:59 Bob, that is indeed a hot potato. 06:05 Jesus said--I think you know the text render the Caesar, 06:09 the things that be Caesar's, 06:11 and to God the things that be God's. 06:14 There is a legitimate fear for the church 06:19 and there is a fear for the state of the government. 06:25 And both sides shouldn't cross over. 06:29 That is why America believes 06:32 in the separation of church and state. 06:36 What happens when the church controls the state? 06:40 Well, if you go back in history 06:41 and study the story of the dark ages. 06:44 When the Roman church controls the state, 06:47 you had millions and millions of people put to death. 06:51 Whenever the church dictates to the state, 06:55 you have religious persecution. 06:57 What happens when the state controls the church? 07:01 The state ought to stay out of the churches backyard. 07:06 The state has got no right here in this building, 07:08 no right at all. 07:09 But you go to Russia 07:11 and when the state controls the church 07:14 you had some 15 million people 07:17 put to death for all sorts of reasons. 07:20 And so-- and most people 07:22 don't seem to be aware of these things, 07:24 most people don't seem to realize 07:26 the danger of church and state mingling together. 07:32 And so render the Caesar the things that be Caesar's. 07:36 What happens when the state controls the church? 07:39 Communist Russia, Nazi Germany. 07:44 How then should the church influence society? 07:49 What is the best way now, you know, 07:50 I know that people in this country. 07:53 Many millions of people believe 07:55 that the church ought to be loving Congress all the time. 07:59 And better still the church got to have its representatives 08:02 in Congress or the White House 08:04 to impose upon us their own viewpoints. 08:10 Some people believe 08:11 that we need to get back to the keeping of Sunday. 08:15 And they pray earnestly that one day 08:17 we're going to get a president 08:18 and this president is going to say, 08:20 we're going to bring in Sunday keeping 08:22 or Congress is going to pass it. 08:24 When that happens, 08:25 you have the situation of antichrist 08:27 because that's what it is. 08:29 When church and state are joined together 08:32 you have the essence of antichrist. 08:34 How should the church influence society? 08:36 Let me tell you, it's very simple. 08:39 Not by having lobbyist in Washington 08:42 but by doing what the church is being called to do, 08:45 that is to preach the gospel. 08:47 The church ought to get out of the church buildings 08:49 and go out into the world and to preach the gospel, 08:52 that's what Jesus did. 08:55 Jesus was not a lobbyist with the Roman government. 08:57 That's what Paul did, 08:59 that's what all the apostles did. 09:00 They went into the world and they preached the gospel. 09:03 That is why this ministry believes in worldwide evangelism 09:07 and by the grace of God this is why we do it. 09:10 And so we can change society 09:13 for the good by preaching the gospel 09:16 because the gospel uplifts society. 09:19 Wherever the gospel goes you have the greatest freedom 09:23 where woman are the most respected, 09:25 where the Bible and Christ go. 09:29 Now what about a person who is a politician 09:31 and he believes in Christ and the gospel? 09:34 Remember Wilber, Wilberforce, wherever a person is, 09:39 he should try to influence Congress 09:42 or whatever to make the world a better place. 09:46 But I should not endeavor who force upon you 09:50 my own religious convictions. 09:54 Because my religious convictions 09:57 belong to me and the state has got no right to tell me 10:01 what I ought to think, how I ought to worship, 10:05 that is between me and God. Amen. 10:09 And so Jesus our Lord said, 10:11 "Render to Caesar the things that be Caesar's, 10:15 and to God the things that be God's." 10:18 I wish Christians were more interested in evangelism 10:22 than they are in elections, don't you? 10:27 Going to take another question. 10:29 Hello, Pastor Carter, this is Ron calling. 10:33 In studying my Bible I read that it tells us 10:36 that flesh and blood will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 10:39 Could you please tell me what this means? 10:42 Ron, very perceptive question, very good. 10:47 I am going to turn to a text, I want the home audience 10:49 to turn with me to please 1 Corinthians 15:50. 10:57 It's the chapter on the State of the Dead 11:01 and the Resurrection. 11:03 So 1 Corinthians 15:50, "I declare to you, brothers, 11:10 that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 11:13 Now this explains it, 11:15 "Nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." 11:19 It is talking about our corrupt fallen 11:23 sinful natures, fallen humanity. 11:26 Remember Ron, on one occasion Jesus said to Saint Peter, 11:32 when Peter made the great confession, 11:34 "You are the Christ, the son of the living God." 11:38 Jesus said, "Peter, flesh and blood 11:41 does not reveal this unto you." 11:44 In other words, frail, sinful humanity 11:48 has not revealed this unto you. 11:50 When the Bible says flesh and blood 11:52 should not inherit the kingdom of God. 11:55 It is talking about corrupt, sinful, perishable humanity. 12:01 But one day God is going to take this corrupt, 12:03 perishable, sinful humanity and God is going to make it new 12:08 and we are going to live forever in the kingdom of God. Amen. 12:11 You see that's what we believe, 12:12 that's part of the good news of the gospel. 12:18 Somebody else is on the phone, I believe. 12:21 Good morning, Pastor Carter. 12:22 My name is Michelle and I have a question for you. 12:25 A friend tells me the Bible writers were on drugs 12:27 when they wrote down their vision. 12:29 This has confused and discouraged me. 12:31 What do you think? 12:34 Thank you, Michelle. 12:36 Seems to me that your friend does a lot of bad drugs. 12:39 I guess you have to be on drugs 12:41 to make such a statement, wouldn't you? 12:46 This is not the first time I've been asked this. 12:48 Some folks came to me and they said, 12:50 "We were told by a friend 12:52 the Bible was written by people who were on drugs." 12:57 It hardly warrants an answer. 12:59 I would say people who say things like that 13:01 have never read the Holy Scriptures. 13:04 Try reading Isaiah 40, 13:08 "Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. 13:12 They shall mount up on wings like eagles. 13:14 They shall run and not be grow weary. 13:16 They shall walk and not faint." 13:18 The most sublime language in the world. 13:22 This book is the greatest masterpiece 13:26 the world has ever seen. 13:30 Even people who are non-believers, 13:32 who don't even believe in God they read the Bible 13:35 because of the glory of the language. 13:40 Go read Matthew 5, the Beatitudes. 13:43 When I was in Russia once 13:44 when the communists were ruling the place, 13:46 a man said to me, "Then Bible is just nonsense, foolishness." 13:49 I took out my Bible and I read to him the Beatitude. 13:52 He said, "I've never read anything so-- 13:55 heard anything so wonderful." 13:57 I gave him my own Bible. 14:01 I would say my friend, there are some questions 14:04 and even though it's good question 14:06 and you are repeating somebody 14:10 but nobody with a rational mind 14:14 would ever postulate the absurd theory 14:18 that this book was written 14:20 by people who were having hallucinations 14:24 because they were on drugs. 14:28 I think that only a person 14:30 who is having hallucinations himself 14:34 would make such an absurd statement. 14:39 It is the living word of the living God. 14:43 Now I am going to invite Hugo Yin 14:48 who is not a stranger to this church 14:52 and Hugo is going to come now. 14:54 He is going to come and bless us with the song. 14:58 Would you please welcome our friend, Hugo. 15:19 Who can say for certain 15:24 Maybe you're still here 15:27 I feel you all around me 15:31 Your memories so clear 15:35 Deep in the stillness 15:39 I can hear you speak 15:43 You're still an inspiration 15:47 Can it be 15:50 That you are my 15:56 forever love 15:59 And you are watching 16:01 over me from up above 16:08 Fly me up to where you are 16:13 Beyond the distant star 16:19 I wish upon tonight 16:22 To see you smile 16:27 If only for awhile 16:30 To know you're there 16:34 A breath away's not far 16:38 To where you are 16:48 Are you gently sleeping 16:52 Here inside my dream? 16:55 And isn't faith believing? 16:59 All power can't be seen 17:03 As my heart holds you 17:07 Just one beat away 17:11 I cherish all you gave me 17:15 Everyday 17:17 For you are my 17:21 forever love 17:26 Watching me from up above 17:33 And I believe 17:37 that angels breathe 17:41 And that love will live on 17:44 And never leave 17:49 Fly me up to where you are 17:55 Beyond the distant star 18:00 I wish upon tonight 18:03 To see you smile 18:08 If only for awhile 18:11 To know you're there 18:16 A breath away's not far 18:19 To where you are 18:26 I know you're there 18:31 A breath away's not far 18:35 To where you are 18:53 Later on today, I am going to answer the question. 18:57 What do our friends, the Mormons believe? 19:01 That will be a little later on 19:03 but now I am going to take this telephone call. 19:06 Hi Pastor Carter, my name is Shawna Taylor 19:09 and I really want to say I appreciate your sermons 19:11 every weekday, really are very uplifting for me. 19:14 But I have a question for you today, Pastor Carter. 19:16 My husband was brought up 19:17 in a very strict legalistic church 19:20 and when he was old enough he left 19:22 and he has not look back. 19:23 However, he now refuses to take any of our children 19:27 or send them to Sabbath school. 19:28 He said that they can make their own decision 19:30 when they grow up about religion. 19:32 So my question to you Pastor Carter, 19:34 what do you think of his attitude? 19:38 Let me read this back to you, 19:42 "My husband was brought up 19:43 in a very strict legalistic church 19:45 and when he was old enough he left, 19:47 has not look back He now refuses to take 19:50 or send our children to Sabbath school 19:52 and says, they can make their own decision 19:54 when they grow up about religion. 19:57 What do you think of his attitude?" 20:00 You can be sure of one thing. 20:03 If you don't train your children now 20:04 when they are little to love Jesus, 20:07 they are not going to make a decision 20:09 later on to follow Christ. 20:12 Some people say, well, you know, 20:14 I am just going to let them believe what they like now. 20:17 When they grow up they are giong to be free 20:19 to make their own decision. 20:20 No, they have already made it. 20:22 You made it for them. You made it for them. 20:25 I want you to come over here to a text 20:27 in the Bible to Proverbs 22:6, 20:30 Book of Proverbs 22:6 it is. 20:35 Proverbs 22:6, a wise man said, 20:42 "Train a child in the way he should go, 20:46 and when he is old he will not turn away from it." 20:49 There's an old saying by another wise man. 20:54 It says, "As the twig is bent 20:59 so the tree is inclined." 21:03 If you want a little child to grow up to worship God, 21:07 don't leave until that little child is a grown adult 21:12 but teach that little child, 21:14 Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. 21:21 Do it now. 21:22 Parents have got a tremendous responsibility. 21:28 Somebody else on the line. 21:30 Hello, Pastor Carter, my name is Steven. 21:33 I have question for you sir. 21:35 My question is why is the word Lord in the Bible 21:39 sometimes used in capital letter 21:42 and other times it's used in lower case? 21:45 An example on the capital 21:50 and the lower case Luke 10:27. 21:53 Thank you. Thank you. 21:56 Why is it that you find somewhere in the scriptures 21:59 when it says Lord, it's all in caps 22:01 and in other places in the New Testament 22:04 it's big L then small letters for Lord? 22:09 It's because the Old Testament is written in Hebrew 22:12 and the New Testament is written in Greek. 22:16 Now when it's talking about the self-existent almighty God, 22:21 it uses the word-- come over here, 22:24 put this on the blackboard this morning. 22:27 It may be a little hard for you to follow it 22:29 because I made it a little bit fancy 22:32 but here you got the actual name for the almighty God 22:36 and in the Old Testament that is Yahweh, which is Yhwh. 22:43 This is the most sacred word in all of creation. 22:48 The word that is used for Lord in the New Testament 22:51 is the Greek word Kurios and basically it means, 22:56 oh sir or as my Spanish friends would say senior. 23:02 Did I said it right? Senior. 23:06 And so in Proverbs and other parts of the Bible 23:09 when it refers to the almighty God, 23:11 the self-existent God, He is called Yahweh 23:15 and that is translated LORD in big caps. 23:21 Some translations it's actually translated Yahweh, 23:26 other translations it's translated 23:28 not so accurately by the term or the name Jehovah 23:33 and then when you come to the New Testament 23:36 you don't have the word Yahweh 23:37 of course, you have Kurios and it is translated Lord. 23:41 It's because of the difference of the languages. 23:45 Is somebody else waiting on the line there? 23:49 Hi, Pastor Carter, my name is Skip. 23:51 I am calling in because I really enjoy 23:55 your teaching straight from the Bible. 23:57 I have a question for you. 23:59 I am dating a woman who is a Moslem 24:01 and I am a Christian. 24:02 I belong to the Seventh-day Adventist church. 24:05 Do you think our marriage will be successful? 24:09 Skip, you are asking me as a pastor a question. 24:15 I imagine you want an honest answer 24:18 not a political one. 24:22 I believe that Christians ought to marry Christians 24:25 and Moslems ought to marry Moslems. 24:28 People say, but the religions are compatible. 24:31 No, there's no close relationship 24:36 between the Christian faith and the Moslem faith. 24:40 Now I appreciate and respect Moslems 24:44 but the Moslem religion 24:46 is incompatible with Christianity. 24:50 I want you to come over here in the New Testament 24:53 over here Skip to John 8:53 and onwards. 25:00 John 8:53 and onwards. 25:07 The Bible says or the Jews said, 25:10 "Are you greater than our father Abraham? 25:12 He died, and so did the prophets. 25:14 Who do you think you are?" 25:16 Verse 56, "Your father Abraham 25:19 rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day, 25:21 he saw it and was glad.' 25:24 'You are not yet fifty years old,' 25:26 the Jews said to him, 'and you have seen Abraham!' 25:29 'I tell you the truth,' 25:31 Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born--" 25:37 what does He say, "I am. 25:41 At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, 25:44 but Jesus hid Himself, 25:46 slipping away from the temple grounds." 25:49 Jesus claims to be Yahweh Elohim. 25:55 He is the almighty Son of God. 25:59 Mohammed, the Moslems believed was a great prophet 26:03 but Mohammed didn't claim to be the son of God. 26:07 The Moslems do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. 26:12 They believe that he is a prophet. 26:15 But the Moslems do not believe in the divinity of Christ 26:20 or in His atoning sacrifice. 26:25 And therefore there is a great gulf 26:28 between the Moslem faith and the Christian faith. 26:32 I don't think you ought to, 26:33 if you are a Christian you should not marry a Moslem, 26:37 I am telling you. 26:38 Look at Chapter 8:24, 26:41 Jesus said, "I told you that you would die in your sins, 26:46 if you do not believe that I am the one 26:48 I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins." 26:55 My friend, this is pretty strong. 26:58 Jesus-- and now people say, well, Jesus was bigotry. 27:01 No, no, He was the Son of God. 27:04 He was the Son of God, so don't pick on Jesus. 27:07 Jesus said to the Jews, 27:09 if you don't believe that I am who I am 27:14 then you are going to die in your sins. 27:17 And if you are a Christian and if you marry a Moslem, 27:20 you are marrying a person who does not believe 27:23 that Jesus is the Son of God. 27:26 You are going to have problems. 27:29 And so is the person who is going to marry you. 27:31 Come over here to 2 Corinthians 6. 27:35 2 Corinthians 6:14 and onwards. 27:38 Now you may say to me, 27:40 well, it's going to be different with me. 27:42 No, it's not my friend. It's not going to be different. 27:46 And if you go ahead and have that marriage 27:48 I don't believe that God is going to bless that marriage. 27:52 Sorry to tell you that but I don't believe 27:55 that God can bless that marriage, 27:58 Christians ought to marry Christians. 28:00 And when I say Christians ought to marry Christians, 28:03 don't just marry any person who professes to be a Christian, 28:07 marry a person who is a genuine born again believer. 28:11 2 Corinthians 6:14 and onwards, 28:14 "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. 28:18 For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? 28:22 Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" 28:24 Now I am not saying that Moslem faith is wickedness 28:27 but it is incompatible with our faith. 28:31 "What fellowship can light have with darkness? 28:33 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? 28:36 What does a believer in Christ 28:40 have in common with an unbeliever?" 28:43 And then you come down to verse 17, 28:45 "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord." 28:51 So if you are asking my honest counsel, 28:55 I would say, go to the Word of God. 28:59 As Billy Graham said, if you are keeping company 29:02 with a non-believer, drop him and drop him fast. 29:07 That's my advice to you. 29:11 And we got somebody else with the question now, please. 29:15 Hello, Pastor Carter, thanks for taking my call. 29:18 My name is Bob and I've been reading my Bible 29:22 and I ran across the name of a fellow 29:25 and I don't know who he is. 29:29 They call him Michael 29:30 and they say he is the archangel. 29:33 And I am wondering who is this Michael 29:36 and who is this archangel? 29:39 Good question Bob. 29:42 Jesus is archangel. 29:44 Jesus is the self-existent God 29:47 but Jesus is the leader of the angels 29:52 and in Daniel 12, we are not going to turn to the text. 29:54 It says, "Michael the great prince 29:57 who stands for God's people." 29:58 He stands up, so He is the great prince for God's people. 30:02 And then in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 30:08 it says when Jesus comes back, 30:10 He comes back with a voice of the archangel 30:14 and with the trumpet call of God. 30:16 Jesus I believe is Michael 30:21 and He is the leader of the angels 30:26 but not an angel Himself. Next question. 30:29 Hello, Pastor Carter. My name is Denis. 30:32 My wife and I were recently mounding over a question 30:36 we had related to Cain. 30:38 Cain married a woman from Nod 30:40 and they had a child Enoch 30:42 but what and where was this tribe of Nod? 30:46 And other then Enoch 30:47 where does this tribe fit into the big scheme of things? 30:50 A very, very big hot potato. 30:54 That's the biggest hot potato we've dealt with so far. 30:57 That potato is about as big as that potato. 31:00 It's a big one. 31:02 The land of Nod was told in the Book of Genesis 4 31:05 and I think verse 16, was east of Eden. 31:09 That would make it somewhere over near Iraq, Pakistan. 31:16 The Garden of Eden was in the middle east 31:19 and the Bible tell us that there was the land of Nod. 31:23 We are not told a great deal about it. 31:25 Denis, let me say this to you my friend. 31:28 The Bible doesn't give us 31:30 all the answers about everything. 31:33 Doesn't give us all the answers. 31:36 We are not expected to have all the answers. 31:39 Why was the Bible written? 31:40 To make me smart on every subject? No. 31:43 So that I will believe in Jesus Christ 31:46 and I will be saved. 31:48 That's the reason the Bible was given. 31:50 Here's another question now. 31:53 Hello, Pastor Carter. My name is Blake. 31:56 I really enjoy your preaching 31:58 and I have a question for you today. 32:00 Professor Richard Dawkins teaches that God is a delusion 32:04 and Christianity and Judaism have committed 32:06 terrible crimes against humanity. 32:08 Why are so many today turning to atheism 32:12 and is there an answer? 32:14 Professor Dawkins has made some points 32:18 but none of them are valid. 32:20 He is the world's greatest atheist 32:24 and I believe the position 32:25 he takes is intellectually lacking. 32:30 I don't believe it's respectable 32:32 for a person to say there's no God. 32:34 How on earth will he know, has he been everywhere? 32:36 Has he seen everything? Of course not. 32:38 So how can he say that? 32:40 He says that Christians and Jews have done some terrible things. 32:44 Yes, they have. 32:46 Think what the Church of Rome did in the Dark Ages 32:50 and other people who profess to believe in God 32:53 have done some bad things. 32:55 That does not make God bad. 32:58 To say that you are not going to believe in God 33:00 because some so called Christians or Jews 33:06 have done things is illogical and foolish. 33:11 But let me remind 33:12 the great professor of this truth 33:15 that nobody has persecuted more than the atheists. 33:19 I've been to Russia and Ukraine and I have visited places 33:24 where millions of people were butchered 33:27 by people who believe in the same ideas 33:30 as the great professor Dawkins 33:33 who believe that the highest law is the survival of the fittest. 33:38 So what's good for the goose Professor Dawkins 33:43 is good for the gander. 33:45 Nobody has persecuted more than the atheists. 33:49 Now, why do I believe in God? 33:52 I can give you a million reasons 33:54 but let me-- I don't have time today, 33:56 I can take a whole discourse on this but listen, 34:00 one moment after creation 34:01 that scientists call the big bang. 34:04 One millisecond, there were four forces 34:07 that came into being in the universe. 34:09 They haven't been there before. 34:11 Gravity, the strong nuclear force, 34:13 the weak nuclear force so forth. 34:16 There are four big forces. 34:17 We now know that if those four forces had been out of sync 34:23 by one quadrillionth of one quadrillionth 34:26 by one quadrillionth of one quadrillionth, 34:29 a one quadrillionth of one percent 34:31 the universe would have imploded or exploded. 34:36 And that is why there's hardly a cosmologist 34:41 left in the world today who does not believe in God 34:46 because of the evidence. 34:47 I believe in God not because of blind faith, 34:51 I believe in God because of the overwhelming evidence. 34:56 And there's another evidence I would give to you today 34:58 and that is this the evidence of Christ. 35:01 You only got to read His writings 35:03 and you will find they are the most sublime teachings 35:06 in the history of the world. 35:09 Why do many people become atheists? 35:12 Well, some perhaps because they are confused 35:15 and others I think because it is easier. 35:21 No God, you can do what you like. 35:24 Beverly showed me a video last night on two great doctors 35:30 who went to India to work with the lepers. 35:34 Dr. Brand, Dr. Brand. 35:37 You see them touching the lepers, 35:40 touching their sores. 35:41 Working for the down cast. 35:45 You don't see too many atheists doing it, do you? 35:49 No, you don't but the followers of Christ. 35:54 Now we are going to take another break 35:55 and then I am going to talk about 35:57 what do the Mormons believes. 35:59 So stay with us. Hugo, come and sing to us. 36:03 Would you please welcome him? 36:23 My faithful Father, 36:31 enduring Friend 36:36 Your tender mercy's 36:39 like a river with no end 36:46 It overwhelms me, 36:53 covers my sin 36:58 Each time I come into Your presence 37:05 I stand in wonder once again 37:13 Your grace still amazes me 37:21 Your love is still a mystery 37:29 Each day 37:33 I fall on my knees 37:38 'Cause Your grace still amazes me 37:46 Your grace still amazes me 38:07 Oh precious Savior, 38:15 You make me whole 38:20 You are the Author 38:23 and the Healer of my soul 38:30 What can I give You, 38:37 Lord, what can I say 38:42 I know I've nothing to repay You 38:49 Only to offer You 38:53 my praise 38:58 Your grace still amazes me 39:05 Your love is still a mystery 39:12 Each day 39:16 I fall on my knees 39:21 'Cause Your grace still amazes me 39:29 Your grace still amazes me 39:38 It's wider 39:42 It's stronger, it's higher 39:50 It's deeper, it's wider 39:57 It's stronger, it's higher 40:03 Than anything my eyes can see 40:10 Your grace still amazes me 40:17 Your love is still a mystery 40:24 Each day 40:28 I fall on my knees 40:33 'Cause Your grace still amazes me 40:41 Your grace 40:43 still amazes me 41:14 This program is entitled, "Hot potatoes." 41:18 During the segment I am going to answer the question. 41:21 What do our friends, the Mormons really believe? 41:24 But firstly, I got somebody on the line. 41:28 Hi, Pastor Carter, my name is Susan 41:31 and I am a healthcare professional. 41:33 I would like to know how the devil 41:36 can make a person physically ill. 41:39 Ellen White talked about this 41:40 and I have heard missionaries talk about it. 41:43 I know we cannot ascribe all illness to the devil 41:46 but can we have any understanding 41:48 of this phenomenon? Thank you. 41:52 We do believe as Christians in evil spirits. 41:58 You want to give evil spirit a wide birth. 42:03 Don't have anything to do with religion, 42:08 it's got anything to do with spiritism. 42:11 So yes, there are evil spirits. 42:14 I believe they can harass a believer 42:18 but they cannot posses him. 42:21 The devil can't share the same kitchen 42:24 with the creator. 42:26 He can't come inside you. 42:27 The devil can't come inside you if you have God there. 42:32 He can posses an unbeliever 42:34 who has played around with the devil. 42:38 I met people who have played around with the devil 42:41 and I believe they have become demon possessed. 42:45 Don't-- don't try it. 42:48 Some say, I am going to try it. 42:50 Don't, don't, don't try it. 42:52 It's better to play with lightning. 42:56 So I believe that he can harass people 42:59 but having said all of that, 43:02 almost all sickness is the result of our lifestyles. 43:08 Don't we like the person who said, 43:10 the devil made me to it. 43:14 It's not usually the devil to blame 43:17 if we suffer from some disease. 43:19 It's because of our lifestyle. 43:22 The Bible says whatever man sows that shall he reap. 43:26 If a person lives and obeys God's laws, 43:31 he is going to be blessed. 43:32 If a person lives to disobey God's laws, 43:37 he will suffer because of the consequences. 43:42 Let's have another question, please on the phone. 43:47 Hi, Pastor Carter. My name is Karen. 43:50 I have a question for you. What is blasphemy of the spirit? 43:57 A very, very good question. 43:59 It should concern particularly people who go to church 44:03 because the best place 44:04 to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is in a church. 44:10 It can be dangerous to go to church 44:13 if you have a spiritful preacher. 44:14 Come over here with me to Matthew 12:31. 44:19 Matthew 12:31, and Jesus, our Lord is talking. 44:26 Matthew 12:31, and Karen, 44:31 I want you to listen carefully 44:32 as we read the words of Jesus here. 44:34 Matthew 12:31, Jesus said, 44:37 "And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy 44:40 will be forgiven men, 44:42 but the blasphemy against the Spirit 44:45 will not be forgiven." 44:48 We should read verse 32, "Anyone who speaks a word 44:51 against the Son of Man will be forgiven, 44:54 but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit 44:57 will not be forgiven, 44:58 either in this age or in the age to come." 45:02 I want you to think about this. 45:05 Jesus said the most dangerous thing 45:10 that a person can do is to sin against the Holy Spirit. 45:16 If a person sin against the Holy Spirit 45:20 and blasphemes him, the person cannot be saved. 45:25 Pretty serious. 45:28 Now the unpardonable sin is not murder, 45:32 it's not adultery, it's not fornication, 45:34 it's not stealing because if you come to God 45:37 and confess any of those sins, 45:39 God will forgive you. 45:41 But God can't forgive you 45:42 for the sin against the Holy Spirit. 45:46 How does it work? 45:47 Well the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead 45:49 and the Holy Spirit comes, he's send from God 45:52 and he convicts us of sin. 45:57 How does he do this? 45:58 Well, maybe I am sitting here in church 46:01 and the preacher is anointed by the Holy Spirit 46:04 and he is preaching from the Word of God 46:07 and he is talking about a sin in my life 46:11 and I say, "No, I am not going to do what he says. 46:14 I am not going to do what God says." 46:17 And so as the Holy Spirit speaks to us 46:20 or speaks to that individual, that person hardens his heart. 46:26 It says in the Old Testament in the Book of Genesis, 46:29 "My spirit will not always strive with man." 46:33 The Spirit of God strives with us. 46:37 I've taken meetings 46:38 and I've seen the Spirit of God striving with people. 46:41 As I preached the Word of God, 46:43 I've seen beads of perspiration come out, 46:47 out of person's forehead 46:48 as he struggled with the Spirit of God. 46:51 As I've said, "Would you raise your hand?" 46:55 person is struggling. 47:00 Now this is an important truth, 47:03 every time I say no to God, 47:08 it's easier to say no the next time. 47:13 So if I continue to say no to God 47:15 the time will certainly come 47:18 when the Spirit of God will talk to me with a voice of thunder 47:24 and I won't even hear him 47:26 because I've harden my heart. 47:29 When I was a young minister a few years ago, 47:34 Beverly and I lived next to a railway track. 47:38 At 1 o'clock in the morning 47:40 the Sothern Aurora would come thundering down 47:43 that railway track at Wagga Wagga 47:46 in South, New South Whales. 47:50 The first night we were terrified, 47:52 I thought it was coming through the bedroom. 47:54 The next night it woke us up, the next night-- 47:57 but we know, a week or two 48:00 Sothern Aurora would come thundering along-- 48:02 we wouldn't even hear it. 48:05 That's what happens with the Spirit of God. 48:08 That is why there are some people 48:09 who come to church year after year 48:12 and the preaching of the Word of God 48:17 because of their reaction hardens their hearts. 48:21 That's why the Bible tells us 48:23 today if you will hear his voice, 48:27 do not harden your heart. 48:29 Nobody here has committed the unpardonable sin 48:32 because if you hope to be saved 48:36 and if you have a desire to be saved 48:38 the Spirit of God has not left you. 48:41 But the message of the Word of God is do it and do it now. 48:47 Another question. 48:50 Hi, Pastor Carter, this is Stephanie. 48:52 Thank you for your wonderful teaching. 48:55 I have a question for you. What do Mormons believe? 49:01 What do the Mormons believe? 49:07 Now folks in this church we do not talk politics. 49:11 Amen. Amen. 49:12 Say it louder. Amen. 49:14 Amen. Yeah. 49:17 But we are dedicated to the preaching of the truth 49:22 and we will never come to the place where we say, 49:25 "Because of political correctness 49:28 we will cease to preach the truth." 49:32 The Mormons have another Bible. 49:36 There it is. It is the Book of Mormon. 49:40 They say it is another scripture about Jesus Christ. 49:46 So they do not believe 49:48 in the protestant principle of Sola Scriptura 49:53 but they believe they have another Bible. 49:58 It starts in 1832 50:01 when some golden plates were found 50:03 containing the record of a man by the name of Mormon 50:08 who was an ancient American as you would expect. 50:13 He told how Jesus visited America 50:18 after the resurrection 50:21 and revealed the truth of God and the true gospel. 50:26 His name was Mormon 50:28 and he wrote it down we are told in this book. 50:31 Joseph Smith, who Mormons believe was a true prophet, 50:37 was visited by the son of Mormon. 50:40 His name was Moroni. 50:43 He was visited by a dead man 50:47 who was still alive. 50:51 People say what's wrong with that? 50:53 Because it is spiritism. 50:57 People say, do you believe he was visited by a person? 51:01 Yes, I believe it. 51:05 But the Bible teaches and I have debated 51:08 with the Mormons and the Mormon bishops. 51:12 They believe that the dead live on. 51:16 They believe in the immortality of the soul. 51:21 I can't believe this book and I don't recommend it to you 51:25 because I believe it came through 51:26 the agency of an unclean spirit. 51:31 Let me read you something here, 51:34 "And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed 51:36 he would not have fallen, 51:38 but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. 51:40 And all things which were created 51:42 must have remained in the same state 51:44 in which they were after they were created. 51:47 And they would have had no children, no children. 51:53 Therefore they would have remained 51:54 in a state of innocence, having no joy, 51:57 for they knew no misery. 52:00 Doing no good, for they knew no sin." 52:03 So you can't do good unless you have sin. 52:06 "Adam fell that men might be. 52:14 Adam fell that men might be, 52:16 and men are that they might have joy." 52:20 So Adam had to sin 52:22 before children could come into the world. 52:29 Either you are going to follow the scripture 52:32 which came from the hand of the God 52:33 or you're going to follow the Book of Mormon 52:36 that came from a hand of a dead man. 52:39 Not a dead man but a spirit, an evil spirit. 52:43 The Book of Mormon teaches the immortality of the soul 52:46 and Joseph Smith says in the introduction 52:49 to the Book of Mormon, 52:51 it is the most correct of any book on earth. 52:56 Do they believe the Bible? 52:57 They will say, yes, as it is rightly translated 53:02 but the Book of Mormon is above everything? 53:07 We as Christians believe in Sola Scriptura. Amen. 53:13 And what you can't get for doctrine 53:15 out of the Holy scriptures 53:18 you better leave aside, I tell you. 53:23 Then there was the book, the Pearl of Great Price. 53:30 It perplex to be from the hands of Joseph Smith, 53:34 He receive this and you got all the hieroglyphics 53:37 then he wrote down, well this is Abraham doing, 53:40 this is Abraham doing something else. 53:43 He was safe because nobody understood the hieroglyphics. 53:48 The Pearl Of Great Price, 53:51 archeologists have examined it who knows the hieroglyphics 53:54 and they say it is a complete fraud 53:58 from beginning to end. 54:01 God does nothing in partnership with the devil 54:05 and He does nothing in partnership with lies. 54:11 The religion was started on polygamy. 54:17 You only have to study the history 54:22 and Joseph Smith made the famous statement. 54:24 You better listen to it, don't close your ears. 54:29 "What man is God once was 54:32 and what God is man may become." 54:38 Mormonism which is based on spiritism, 54:42 not on the Bible, is based on the idea 54:45 that what man is God once was 54:48 and what God is man may become. 54:50 Every man, not the women 54:52 but every man, the men get to resurrect the wives. 55:00 But what God is, man may become? 55:04 And every man through the teachings of Mormon 55:08 can become Yahweh Elohim over his own universe. 55:16 I was debating some years ago, 55:18 I don't debate anymore 55:20 because I became a little quieter 55:22 but I was debating with some Morman elders in Australia 55:26 because some of their members were coming to my meetings 55:29 and I was invited to debate with the Mormon bishop 55:35 and I used the Bible. 55:37 And when a Mormon cannot answer from scripture, 55:40 immediately he gives his testimony, 55:41 "I believe in Joseph Smith." 55:43 He believes that is more powerful than anything else, 55:46 the word of his testimony. 55:48 And after they gave the testimony I said, 55:51 "I believe that the Jesus is the Son of God 55:54 and I believe the Book of Mormon 55:55 came from the hand of a evil spirit. 55:58 And I believe in the Bible and the Bible alone." 56:01 And then I started to speak about the State of the Dead. 56:07 And as I spoke the Mormon Elder cried out to the flock, 56:10 put your hands on your ears and all shout. 56:16 And they put their hands on their ears 56:18 and they started to shout. 56:19 He cried out to them, 56:21 "Do not listen to the words 56:23 he is giving you, close your ears." 56:28 And then he cried to some of his fellow bishops, 56:30 "let us take him and throw him outside 56:33 so we don't have to hear the word 56:35 that he is preaching anymore." 56:36 And they took me physically and threw me down the stairs. 56:43 Close your ears. 56:47 Now I have a word to you my friend, 56:49 you better listen and you better listen good. 56:55 Put your faith in Jesus 56:59 and put your faith in the Word of God 57:04 and turn your backs on the works of darkness, 57:11 the works of spiritism for Jesus sake. Amen. 57:18 Amen and amen. Amen. 57:20 And I want to thank you for joining me. 57:24 Send me your hot potatoes. |
Revised 2014-12-17