Participants: Pr. John Carter
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001302
|
00:08 From Arcadia, California, the Carter report presents
00:11 "The Living Word" around the world. 00:18 We are delighted today 00:20 to welcome you here to our church. 00:22 And we're glad to have Natalie Hohensee from Loma Linda 00:27 and she is going to come and sing for the glory of God. 00:31 Would you please welcome her today? 00:50 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine 00:56 Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine 01:03 Heir of salvation, purchase of God 01:09 Born of His Spirit, lost in His love 01:15 This is my story, this is my song 01:22 Praising my Savior all the day long 01:28 This is my story, this is my song 01:35 Praising my Savior all the day long 01:50 Perfect submission, all is at rest 01:57 I in my Savior, I'm happy and blessed 02:03 Watching and waiting, looking above 02:10 Filled with His goodness, lost in His love 02:16 This is my story, this is my song 02:23 Praising my Savior all the day long 02:29 This is my story, 02:34 this is my song 02:39 Praising my Savior 02:45 all my life long 03:08 Today we've got an important subject 03:10 that we're gonna talk about. 03:15 As some of you know we've had a little, 03:18 a little campaign running on Facebook 03:21 and we've been talking about the issue 03:23 that most folks are talking about on television. 03:26 And in fact, right across America 03:29 and some would say around the world 03:31 and that is what is called same-sex marriage. 03:37 I wrote a letter 03:39 which simply set-forth the teachings of the Bible 03:43 while assuring everybody that God loves everybody. 03:48 We've had more than a million people see our site 03:51 and 50,000 people have clicked on to the information. 03:57 And we've had a deluge of letters that have come in. 04:01 You can see them on our site. 04:05 This is a very interesting one and it's a great one. 04:08 This is written by, I won't say his name, 04:12 but he is decided to be my friend. 04:17 "I just want to shot out 04:19 to any other gay 04:22 people like me, 04:27 who know the Bible is the word of God. 04:31 And some of us do not." I repeat. 04:33 "Do not backup, believe or live 04:38 the lifestyle of a homosexual." 04:43 So here is a young man, great picture of him. 04:48 He is a Christian. 04:51 He is gay, but he doesn't live the gay lifestyle. 04:58 Tells it as it is. Courageous young man. 05:02 "I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind. 05:06 Gays and others think they're getting single out 05:09 when in fact all, all, all people 05:13 who are not married 05:15 (and marriage between anything besides 05:19 a man and woman does not exist)." 05:26 Young gay man talking. 05:29 "And having sexual relations 05:31 outside of a Biblical marriage 05:34 are all guilty of fornicating. 05:39 The Bible is a love letter to all of God's children, 05:43 not a rulebook designed to keep them down. 05:47 Unfortunately, people aren't turning to God 05:50 for questions and answers. 05:54 My relationship is with God, not the opinions of the world. 06:01 Praise God for convicting us of sin 06:05 that our names might be written in the Book of Life." 06:10 And he says, "Amen." And I say amen and amen. 06:15 And God bless him forever. 06:20 The topic today is "The Hidden Gospel, 06:25 The Love of God, and the Last Events 06:29 in the History of the Planet." 06:31 I want you to take your Bibles 06:33 and turn to the second last book in the Bible 06:36 which is the Book of Jude. 06:41 Here Jude tells us that we need to contend for the faith 06:44 that was once delivered to the saints. 06:47 Jude and we're going to read by the grace of God, 06:51 13 verses out of this one chapter book. 06:56 Jude, easy to find, folks. Just before Revelation. 06:59 "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James." 07:03 It is quite possible that this man 07:06 was actually related to our blessed Lord. 07:10 "To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father 07:14 and kept by Jesus Christ. 07:15 Mercy, peace and love to you in abundance. 07:19 Dear friends, although I was very eager 07:22 to write to you about the salvation we share, 07:25 I felt I had to write and urge you 07:28 to contend to struggle for the faith 07:32 that was once for all entrusted to the saints." 07:36 The Bible tells us 07:39 that we need to contend our struggle for the faith 07:44 that was delivered to the saints. 07:47 And the Bible tells us why. Jude tells us why. 07:50 Verse 4, "For certain men whose condemnation was written 07:54 about long ago has secretly slipped in among you. 07:59 They are godless men, 08:00 who changed the grace of our God into a license for immorality 08:06 and deny Jesus Christ our only sovereign and Lord. 08:11 Although you already know this, I want to remind you 08:15 that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, 08:18 but later destroyed those who did not believe. 08:23 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority 08:27 but abandoned their own home-- these he has kept in darkness, 08:31 bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great day. 08:37 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah--" 08:40 I say, my friend, go read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah 08:44 and read it in the Book of Genesis 08:47 and discover why God destroyed these cities. 08:50 "In the similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah 08:53 and the surrounding towns gave themselves up 08:55 to sexual immorality and perversion. 09:01 They serve as an example of those who suffer 09:04 the punishment of eternal fire." Beware. 09:10 "In the very same way, 09:12 these dreamers pollute their bodies, 09:15 reject authority and slander celestial beings. 09:20 But even the archangel Michael 09:22 when he was disputing with the devil 09:24 about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring 09:28 a slanderous accusation against him, 09:30 but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.' 09:35 Yet these men's speak abusively 09:38 about whatever they do not understand 09:41 and what things they do understand by instinct, 09:45 like unreasoning animals. 09:48 These are the very things that destroy them. 09:51 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain. 09:57 They have rushed for profit into Balaam's error. 10:01 They have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion." 10:06 And these were people in the church. Verse 12. 10:12 "These men are blemishes at your love feasts, 10:17 eating with you without the slightest qualm-- 10:20 shepherds who feed only themselves. 10:23 There are clouds without rain, 10:26 blown along by the wind, autumn trees, 10:29 without fruit and uprooted-- twice dead. 10:34 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame, 10:40 wandering stars, for whom the blackness 10:43 and darkness has been reserved forever." 10:50 Now, who was this Jude? 10:55 It says that he was the brother of James. 10:58 Some believe that this was the James 11:01 who was the Lord's brother. 11:05 He was one of the saints of God in the church 11:08 and one of the great preachers of the eternal gospel. 11:12 And he said, "The time would come 11:14 when there would be a widespread departure 11:18 from the faith even among Christians." 11:22 And he says, "What you need to do 11:26 is to contend for the faith 11:28 that was once delivered to the saints. 11:33 The times do not cry out for compromise." 11:36 I want you to hear this. 11:38 "The times demand courage for the crisis." 11:45 Would you for a moment please with me think of events 11:52 that are taking place in the world today? 11:58 There is North Korea. What a regime? 12:05 Communist, atheistic, Marxist regime. 12:11 In spite of all that we can say and do, 12:15 now in possession of nuclear weapons. 12:20 And apparently, ruled-- 12:27 ruled by people who have no capacity to reason 12:34 and to think rationally. 12:40 They are building rockets 12:43 and they've tested some of their rockets. 12:47 The time will come, if not next week, 12:50 the time will come 12:52 when North Korea will have the capacity 12:57 to put a nuclear device on a missile. 13:08 It is all of a sudden a very dangerous world. 13:15 I am convinced in my own soul. 13:19 I don't say this because I'm just a Bible preacher. 13:24 I say it because I-- I look at the evidence. 13:30 I believe that the great clock is ticking. 13:37 And we have come down to the last hours 13:40 in the history of the human race. 13:44 You don't need to turn to the passage, 13:46 but in Revelation, it has a picture 13:49 of the four angels who are holding back 13:52 the winds of strife 13:54 until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. 14:00 And God says to the angels, "Hold, hold, hold." 14:06 But the day is going to come 14:09 when the angels will no longer be 14:12 restrained by the Spirit of God. 14:16 We are living in the last moments 14:18 when God is telling the angels to restrain themselves. 14:25 Would you please come over here to Revelation 9? 14:28 This is a most interesting text. 14:33 Revelation 9:13-16. 14:39 Revelation 9:13-16. 14:45 I want you to notice 14:47 some important words as we read these verses. 14:51 "The sixth angel sounded his trumpet." 14:54 This is the story of the Seven Trumpets. 14:57 "And I heard a voice coming from the horns 14:59 of the golden altar that is before God. 15:02 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, 15:07 'Release the four angels 15:09 who are bound at the great river Euphrates.' 15:13 And the four angels who had been kept ready." 15:16 Look at these words. 15:18 "For this very hour and day and month 15:25 and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 15:30 The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. 15:34 I heard their number." 15:38 What I want to put out today that God has got a time. 15:44 God has got a plan for the human race. 15:49 And finally, it comes down to the last hour 15:54 of the last day of the last month 15:57 of the last year and then God says, "Let it go." 16:03 And then we have the Battle of Armageddon, 16:08 the Seven Last Plagues preceded by the Last Great Conflict. 16:15 Then of course, not only does the world face the threats 16:20 and the bluster from North Korea 16:23 which is a communist state. 16:25 But then we have our Moslem state. 16:28 Iran with a tremendous hatred 16:33 towards Israel who already is armed to the teeth 16:39 with nuclear weapons. 16:42 We can say, they'll never, never, never get it, 16:46 nuclear weapons. 16:49 We said that about the North Koreans. 16:53 What I want you to know, my friends, 16:56 it is no longer business as usual in the world. 17:02 We now look back today 17:05 upon the time of the Cold War with the Russians. 17:09 It almost seems a period of tranquility. 17:14 We are dealing now with madmen. 17:21 Then there are other signs 17:22 that are brought forth in the word of God. 17:24 I want you to come over here to Matthew 24, please, 17:28 which is called as you will remember the little apocalypse 17:32 because it's similar to the Book of Revelation. 17:35 Matthew 24:9 and onwards. 17:40 And notice the words of our blessed Lord. 17:44 "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted 17:48 and put to death, and you will be hated 17:50 by all nations because of me." 17:52 Look at me. 17:54 People have said, but we will never, 18:00 never have persecution in the United States of America. 18:07 I tell you in the name of God the day is coming soon 18:13 when people living in America 18:16 will be prosecuted for their Christian faith. 18:20 Churches will be marked. 18:24 They will be arrest and pastors will be imprisoned 18:31 because they dare to read texts from the Bible. 18:35 My friend Dr. Graham Bradford 18:37 who was a great conservative scholar said to me 18:41 about my own homeland even today in Australia, 18:45 it is becoming dangerous to read certain texts out of the Bible 18:49 or else you'll be prosecuted and persecuted. 18:58 The Bible says that "Persecution 19:01 is going to come to the church." 19:05 Read on. In verse, verse 10. 19:08 "At that time many will turn away from the faith 19:11 and will betray and hate each other 19:15 and many false prophets will appear 19:18 and deceive many people. 19:21 Because of the increase of wickedness 19:24 and the love of most will grow cold, 19:28 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 19:33 And this gospel of the kingdom 19:34 will be preached in the whole world 19:36 as a testimony to all nations, 19:38 and then the end will come." 19:42 Jesus, our blessed Lord said in the last days, 19:48 there would be a time of apostasy among Christians. 19:55 And this apostasy would somehow 19:58 involve the persecution of the faithful. 20:04 I believe the day is coming right here in America 20:08 when persecution will breakout against Christians 20:13 because of their fidelity to the truth. 20:17 Come over here to Genesis, please. 20:21 Over here to the Book of Genesis. 20:24 And this is a description of the days of Noah. 20:30 Genesis 6:5 and onwards. 20:36 "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth 20:39 had become, and that ever inclination 20:43 of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 20:47 The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, 20:50 his heart was filled with pain. 20:54 So the Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, 20:58 whom I have created, from the face of the earth-- 21:01 men and animals, and creatures 21:04 that move along the ground and birds of the air-- 21:09 for I am grieved that I have made them.' 21:12 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." 21:15 Or grace in the eyes of the Lord. 21:18 And verse 11 and onwards. 21:20 "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight 21:24 and was filled with violence. 21:26 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, 21:30 for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 21:36 So God said to Noah, 'I am going to put an end to all people, 21:40 for the earth is filled with violence because of them. 21:45 I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 21:49 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood." 21:58 Please, listen to me. 22:00 And I want to talk to you just softly. 22:04 And I want to just say some things 22:06 that are in my heart today. 22:11 Today, sin is encouraged, 22:16 glorified, and praised. 22:22 Well, I don't plan to major on this today 22:25 because I have said quite a bit. 22:29 If you and I depart from scripture 22:35 and the law of God, we set out 22:40 upon a path of self-destruction. 22:46 Jesus, our blessed Lord said, 22:49 in the beginning God made them male and female. 22:57 And for this reason, 22:59 a man shall leave his father and his mother. 23:03 At least he better and cleave into his wife 23:09 and the two, man and woman shall become one flesh. 23:17 Listen to this. 23:20 I believe that in the noble history 23:25 of the United States of America that God raised up. 23:31 God raised up America 23:34 as a bastion for Bible believers. 23:38 America was not based on Marxism 23:43 or communism or atheism. 23:46 America was based on the faith of the Pilgrim Fathers. 23:51 Why has God blessed America? 23:53 Because of her faith in God. 23:56 Because she has believed to a greater or lesser extent 24:01 that we are the children of the Creator 24:06 and that God's law is eternal. Listen to me. 24:14 And many people agree with me. 24:17 People like, Billy Graham, his son Franklin, 24:22 and I could go on an on people 24:23 who believe in God and the Bible. 24:28 In all the noble history of the United States of America, 24:34 the greatest assault upon America 24:38 is taking place now 24:43 because if you destroy the American family, 24:48 you destroy America. 24:54 God gave two great institutions in the Garden of Eden. 25:00 Number one, the Lords Day. It's almost gone. 25:06 As the great theologian said, 25:08 "When the holy day becomes the day of man, 25:13 society and humanity wither away and the demons rule." 25:19 Let the Lord's Day go, and the demons rule. 25:23 No time for God. 25:26 And the second of God's twins 25:29 from the Garden of Eden is the Sabbath. 25:32 There are two institutions 25:35 that the devil hates with all his evil soul. 25:42 The Sabbath and marriage. 25:46 And today there is an assault 25:52 starting up the very top 25:55 to destroy the American home, 26:01 that my friend, 26:04 is the betrayal of America. 26:10 And this is one of the last signs 26:15 before the Lord comes. 26:18 There is now a plan, listen, 26:21 to change the very fabric of society. 26:27 That which every civilization has believed in 26:31 for thousands of years is now under assault. 26:43 This is a sign. 26:46 There is today our war against God, 26:50 the Bible, and the law of God. 26:54 I heard an English man on CNN 26:57 who is quite famous and does such a great job 27:00 I think on so many occasions, 27:02 but he was interviewing a famous American pastor 27:08 and a good man. 27:11 A man of God who was just lost his son 27:16 from Saddleback Church. 27:19 And he said to that man who said, 27:21 "No, a marriage is between a man and woman." 27:24 He said, "Well, maybe we ought to change the Bible." 27:28 That's what he said. 27:29 He said, "Well, you know, we--well, if the Bible says 27:31 that we need to change the Bible." 27:33 Don't you think? 27:35 Something similar was said to the great Dr. Billy Grahams' son 27:41 and he said, "We cannot 27:46 and we will not change the word of God." 27:53 But today, there is a tremendous pressure 27:57 coming from all sides for us to give in 28:02 and to lie down, and to surrender, 28:07 but by the grace of God, never, never, never, never 28:12 shall we surrender. 28:17 What about freedom of speech and freedom of religion? 28:22 I believe today that freedom of speech 28:24 and freedom of religion 28:26 are being taken from us in America. 28:32 In fact, the day is going to come 28:34 if you stand up in a pulpit and if you preach 28:37 or maybe even read text out of the Bible, 28:40 they're going to say, "That's hate speech." 28:45 Mm-hmm. 28:47 Oh, you're not politically correct. 28:49 You're not allowed to say those things. 28:55 Did I ever expect to see this happen like this? 28:58 No. It caught me unaware. 29:04 The betrayal of America takes place 29:06 when we are forbidden to preach the word of God. 29:09 When Christians are harassed and prosecuted 29:12 because of their religious beliefs. 29:16 Now, the hour is late, but the good news is good news. 29:22 You know what the good new is? 29:24 The good news is, Jesus is coming. Amen. 29:27 Aha. Amen. 29:28 Folks, people say, "Oh, no, you're just going 29:30 to be rollover in the mud. 29:31 No, no, no, no, no, no, no. 29:33 Jesus is coming. 29:35 We're on the winning side. We're going home to glory. 29:38 They've been lots of cynic men and women 29:41 down through the ages who've attacked Jesus 29:44 and the word of God and the law of God. 29:46 Where are they? 29:50 But the Bible is here, and Jesus is here, 29:54 and the law of God is here. 29:57 The good news is Jesus is coming. 29:59 I would remind you. 30:01 "The darker the night, the brighter the stars will shine." 30:06 God will always have his Daniels and Josephs 30:10 and Elijahs and Pauls and Johns. 30:15 "The darker the night, the brighter the stars." 30:20 And let me talk about the love of God. 30:25 You know, the text you don't need to turn to it, John 3:16. 30:31 God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, 30:37 so that whoever believes in him 30:40 shall not perish, but have everlasting life. 30:44 The greatest truth in the Bible is the truth that God loves us. 30:51 The greatest miracle in the Bible 30:53 is not the opening up of the Red Sea. 30:56 The greatest miracle is that God loves sinners. 31:02 He loves Jews. He loves Moslems. 31:07 He loves Catholics and Protestants 31:11 and Buddhists and communists. 31:14 He loves that guy who is doing all those things 31:19 up there in North Korea, He loves him. 31:22 I'd like to go there one day to run a campaign. 31:25 He loves. Absolutely, absolutely. 31:28 Might be my last one. He loves prostitutes. 31:32 He loves politicians. He has a big love. 31:36 He loves movie stars. 31:38 He loves tax collectors, gays, lesbians, homosexuals, 31:45 North Koreans, Iranians, Mexicans, Americans, 31:49 Australians, Hispanics. 31:51 He needs to because there are so many Hispanics. 31:58 Did you know? 32:00 The latest Time Magazine 32:01 has tremendous article on the front cover. 32:05 You know what it says. The Second Reformation. 32:11 You folks don't read TIME Magazine. 32:13 Apparently, the Second Reformation. 32:16 It says that millions and millions of Hispanics 32:20 who came to this country not believing God, 32:23 but belonging to a great church 32:26 are becoming believers in Jesus. 32:30 The greatest movement 32:32 is the movement of Hispanic people 32:35 into the Christian Protestant Church 32:37 and away from the Church of Rome. 32:40 That's one of the reasons we now have a pope 32:45 who is Hispanic to try to stop, just try to stop the flood. 32:51 You can't stop it, because God is behind it. 32:55 It is a sign of the times and God loves them. 33:00 How do we know God loves us? 33:01 You know, the woman who is caught in adultery. 33:05 You know, the story I don't need to go into add in detail 33:08 where Jesus stoop down and wrote with His own finger, 33:13 the story of their filthy lives. 33:16 Then He said to the woman, 33:18 "Nor either do I condemn you go and sin no more." 33:21 What a God that is? 33:23 He loved her. A prostitute. 33:27 He even loved the people who were sleeping with her. 33:33 Then there was Mary Magdalene. How can we forget her? 33:37 The Bible says he had seven demons. 33:39 This is a symbolic expression to me 33:42 that she was full of the devil. 33:47 And Jesus loved her home. 33:49 He loved her so much 33:52 that her heart fell as though it was going to burst 33:55 and she became his most ardent disciple. 33:58 He loved her. He loves people. 34:02 Then Peter who absolutely messed up 34:04 and denied the Lord with cursing and swearing. 34:08 What a disgrace? 34:09 The man who is supposed to be the rock became a pebble. 34:14 And Jesus sent a message 34:15 "Go tell my disciples and Peter." 34:21 I love this poem, you've heard it. 34:24 The love of God is greater far Than tongue or pen can ever tell 34:28 It goes beyond the highest star 34:31 And reaches to the lowest hell 34:34 The guilty pair, bowed down with care 34:37 You know, why we've got all these 34:39 problems in the world today? 34:41 You know, why people have got these abnormalities 34:48 with which they are born? 34:50 We all have them, in one way or the other. 34:53 We none of us are straight. 34:55 None of us are normal. We're all bent by sin. 35:01 And some people are bent in just a different way. 35:06 And the person who is bent the most 35:08 is the pharisaical hypocrites 35:11 who sits in the church every Sabbath, 35:14 but his heart is not touched by the love of God. 35:17 The guilty pair, bowed down with care 35:21 God gave His Son to win 35:22 His erring child He reconciled And pardoned from his sin 35:28 O love of God, how rich and pure! 35:30 How measureless and strong! 35:32 It shall forevermore endure 35:36 The saints' and angels' song 35:39 Listen to these good words. 35:40 When hoary time shall pass away 35:44 And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall 35:47 When men who here refuse to pray 35:51 On rocks and hills and mountains call 35:54 It's gonna happen. 35:57 God's love so sure, shall still endure 36:00 All measureless and strong 36:03 Redeeming grace to Adam's race 36:07 The saints' and angels' song 36:09 Could we with ink the ocean fill 36:13 Imagine it. 36:14 Were the skies of parchment made? 36:18 Were every stalk on earth a quill? 36:21 And every man a scribe by trade 36:27 To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry 36:32 Nor could the scroll contain the whole 36:37 Though stretched from sky to sky 36:40 So God is a fervent lover. 36:46 There's nothing you can do to stop Him loving you. 36:49 That doesn't mean He'll be able to save you. 36:56 A person can only be saved 36:58 when he sees himself as a wretched sinner 37:00 and responds to the love of God, 37:03 and gets a lot of religion out of his soul. 37:07 Now the hidden gospel. 37:09 Come over here to 2 Corinthians 4:1-6. 37:13 2 Corinthians 4:1-6. 37:21 2 Corinthians 4:1-6. This is Paul. 37:25 He said, "Therefore, since through God's mercy, 37:28 mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart." 37:32 Don't lose heart, my friend, when you're getting kicked. 37:36 "Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. 37:40 We do not use deception." We don't tell lies. 37:45 "Nor do we distort the word of God." 37:47 Neither are we politically correct. 37:51 "On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly 37:54 we commend ourselves to every man's conscience 37:57 in the sight of God. 38:00 And even if our gospel is veiled, 38:02 it is veiled to those who are perishing. 38:07 The God of these ages 38:08 has blinded the minds of unbelievers, 38:10 so that they cannot see 38:13 the light of the gospel of glory of Christ, 38:15 who is the image of God. 38:18 For we do not preach ourselves, 38:20 but Jesus Christ as Lord, 38:23 and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 38:26 For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' 38:30 made his light shine in our hearts 38:33 to give us the light of the knowledge 38:35 of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 38:42 Is anybody here colorblind? 38:47 You don't know. 38:50 Have you ever gone and then they've done a test on you, 38:54 and they put a jumble of colors in front of you and they say, 38:59 "What is it?" I've had this. 39:04 I could workout the first page. 39:06 I said, "Yes, letter one." Write. 39:09 Okay, let's go to the second page 39:11 and have a look, it's just pop out. 39:15 If you're not colorblind, if everything is fine 39:18 with your eyes or whatever, what number is that? 39:22 Oh, I can see, that's 27." Okay. 39:26 And let's go to the third page. 39:27 What animal is that? 39:34 I can't see an animal. Well, it's easy. 39:36 Well, let's go to the fourth page. 39:39 You know, this is when they're giving you tests. 39:43 I discovered. 39:47 I know that sky is blue and it looks blue. 39:50 And I know your dress is I think is blue. 39:59 And I know the shirt is green. 40:01 I don't know I'm just kidding, folks. 40:04 But I am partially colorblind. 40:08 So when a person who was not colorblind, 40:13 he can pickup, he can see, that's an elephant there. 40:17 I can't see anything like that. 40:18 I said, "It's just a jumble of colors." 40:23 The vast majority of people in the world. 40:26 When I read the Bible, it's a jumble. 40:30 You can't see it. 40:34 Look at me, that is why this is incomprehensible. 40:42 You can have people 40:44 who are the leaders of the Christian church. 40:49 They pontificate, they say, all the right things. 40:52 But there's something wrong with them. 40:56 They can't see that there's anything wrong with them. 40:59 But others can. 41:02 They can't, they don't understand the gospel. 41:06 It is to them a mystery 41:11 so profound that they think they've got it 41:14 when they're walking in darkness. 41:17 Scary, isn't that? Scary. 41:24 The Apostle Paul in the Book of Galatians 41:27 made a remarkable statement 41:30 that a great theologian pointed out to me many years ago 41:33 when I was about a young man. 41:38 He said-- Paul said, 41:42 "He did not received the gospel by the instruction of people, 41:48 but he said, by a revelation from God. 41:53 Listen to this. 41:57 The greatest curse in the world is bad religion. 42:06 And the hardest person to ever reach is a person 42:10 who thinks he knows, but doesn't know. 42:13 And he is full up to hear with all other right words. 42:21 But the gospel is supernaturally revealed. 42:27 And when the gospel is supernaturally revealed, 42:30 all the colors take the face of Christ. 42:38 That is why I urge people 42:41 to breakaway from the brainwashing 42:43 that we experience everyday in America 42:46 and take time to read the Bible. 42:49 If you don't read the Bible, 42:50 you will never find Christ to salvation, 42:53 because your mind will be so filled with junk. 42:59 So the gospel is hidden and is revealed by the Spirit of God. 43:05 Remember, remember, John Newton said, 43:09 "I was blind, but now I see. 43:12 I was blind, but now I see." 43:16 I want you to come over here to Galatians 2:19 and onwards. 43:20 This is a book that you should read. 43:23 It is difficult and that's another reason to read it. 43:27 People say, but I find it incomprehensible, 43:30 that is because you need the Spirit of God. 43:32 Galatians 2:19 and onwards. 43:36 "For through the law I died to the law 43:38 so that I might live for God." What does it mean? 43:42 "Through the law I died to the law." 43:45 The law can only say that you're guilty and you're going to die. 43:50 "I have been crucified with Christ 43:52 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." 43:54 This is more than our daily experience. 43:58 It is talking about what happened 44:00 when Christ died on the cross. 44:02 When Christ died on the cross, I was in Christ. 44:07 And when He died for sin, my sin was atoned for. 44:12 Therefore, as far as the law of God is concerned, 44:16 John Carter is dead. 44:21 And the law cannot condemn a dead person. 44:26 You've never seen that before? 44:30 I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. 44:35 "The life I live in the body, 44:36 I live by faith and the Son of God, 44:38 who loved me and gave himself for me. 44:39 I do not set aside the grace of God, 44:42 for if righteousness could be gained through the law, 44:44 Christ died for nothing." 44:46 The law is not the gospel, and the gospel is not the law. 44:50 "The law kills me. I was on the cross. 44:55 Christ gave himself for me. 44:57 I am saved by grace the righteousness 45:00 that saves me is the righteousness 45:03 that is the gift of God because of Christ, 45:06 not because of my deeds." 45:09 I want to read you a statement from a great scholar, 45:15 Farrar in his classic "The Life of Christ." Listen. 45:20 "For indeed a death by crucifixion 45:22 seems to include all that pain and death 45:24 can have of horrible and ghastly-- 45:28 dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, 45:30 sleeplessness, traumatic fever, 45:32 tetanus, publicity of shame, 45:35 long continuance of torment, 45:38 horror of anticipation, 45:40 mortification of untended wounds, 45:43 all intensified just up to the point 45:46 at which they can be endured at all, 45:49 but all stopping just short of the point 45:52 which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness. 45:58 The unnatural position made every movement painful, 46:01 the lacerated veins, the crushed tendons 46:04 throbbed with incessant anguish, 46:06 the wounds, inflamed by exposure, 46:09 gradually gangrened, the arteries, 46:12 especially of the head and stomach, 46:14 became swollen and oppressed with surcharged blood, 46:19 and, while each variety of misery 46:21 went on gradually increasing, 46:23 there was added to them the intolerable pang 46:26 of a burning and raging thirst. 46:30 And all these physical complications 46:32 caused an internal excitement and anxiety 46:35 which made the prospect to death itself, of death. 46:40 The last, the awful unknown enemy 46:45 at whose approach man usually shatters most. 46:49 There the aspect of a delicious and exquisite release." 46:57 There is a doctrine that is going around 46:59 today in our church, not in this church here. 47:02 But certainly in Australia 47:04 where people are denying the doctrine of the Trinity. 47:09 If you deny the doctrine of the Trinity, 47:12 you deny the doctrine of the greatness of Christ. 47:17 Because Christ hanging on the cross 47:20 was more than a creature, more than an angel, 47:24 more than a being unspeakably exalted, 47:27 hanging on the cross was Almighty God. 47:31 El shaddi, the Almighty One. 47:33 Yahweh, Elohim, the great I am. 47:41 How much He loves us? 47:48 God loved me enough to die for me. 47:50 The gospel is not the law, 47:52 but it teaches that the law of God is eternal. 47:55 Never forget it. 47:57 The law demands justice, and Christ experienced justice. 48:03 There was no grace for Christ on the cross. 48:06 The warfare against the law is warfare against God. 48:11 The gospel teaches that sin cannot be merely excused, 48:17 it demands a blood atonement. 48:21 The law demands a heaving sacrifice, a man crying out, 48:26 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 48:31 If the law could be set aside, Christ would not have died. 48:38 What Christ experienced on the cross, 48:40 every lost sinner must experience. 48:43 If he or she rejects Christ and His death, 48:47 therefore the Spirit of God comes 48:49 and opens blind hearts that are willing 48:52 and softens hard hearts to those who are willing. 48:56 Are you willing? 48:59 And this true gospel produces 49:01 not a modification, but a transformation. 49:08 I have felt the love of God 49:09 displayed in the lives of men and women. 49:12 Never anywhere in the world have I seen 49:15 the love of God so displayed 49:17 as I saw it among our pastors from Mainland China. 49:23 I can understand why China is probably going to become 49:26 the bastion of the Christian faith 49:29 in the next 20 or 30 years. 49:33 I met people there who'd suffered for Christ, 49:36 who'd been beaten for Christ, 49:38 who'd been throbbed and kicked 49:40 and who slept for 15 or 20 years on concrete, 49:46 covered with blood. 49:48 I was a worm in their presence. 49:52 And when I met them I said, this Christianity must be true. 49:58 It certainly is not the Christianity of America 50:01 or the Christianity of Australia. 50:03 It is the Christianity of Christ. 50:07 It is the suffering fervent Christianity 50:11 and the love that flowed from those people, 50:13 those men and those women that young women 50:17 who is the pastor of a church of 20,000 people and ordained. 50:26 The love was so great that I said it must be true. 50:36 In '92, I preached in our church in Nizhni Novgorod. 50:42 I was there in the middle of winter 50:44 and the people were very hungry. 50:47 We didn't take up an offering, 50:49 we passed out the offering baskets 50:51 and we put money in the offering baskets, 50:54 so people could take money out of the baskets. 50:58 But when I got up to preach 51:01 and I started to talk from the word of God, 51:05 the people all cried because I was the first foreigner. 51:11 The Babushkas, the old mothers, the young people. 51:15 And when they came to me they displayed so much love. 51:20 I said to myself, it is true. 51:22 This is not propaganda that we are talking about. 51:26 This is not the religion of a decedent west. 51:30 This is the religion of Christ, and I felt it. 51:35 And I have also felt it in this church. 51:41 Then there were the born fools, the Baptists. 51:44 During the time of Stalin, 51:46 when a communist was beating up another communist or an atheist, 51:51 the person who was being tortured 51:53 would scream out in blaspheme 51:55 and the Baptists, some of them would say, 51:57 "Let me take the place of that prisoner, beat me instead." 52:03 The communist called them, born fools. 52:06 He said, "You got to be a born fool." 52:08 And the Baptists said, 52:09 "Torture us because we will not curse and blaspheme, 52:13 we will praise God." 52:15 Because if you torture an atheist, 52:18 more hate goes out in the world. 52:19 But if you torture a Christian, 52:21 there will be more love released. 52:24 Do I understand that? 52:26 No, I don't. It is the love of God. 52:33 So this true gospel produces not a modification, 52:36 but a transformation. 52:37 Therefore, we need to seriously deal 52:41 with our own sin-sick souls. 52:44 Stop playing church and stop 52:48 pretending to be what we are not, 52:52 and become the servants of Christ 52:54 and stand up for His truths. 52:56 God today wants soldiers 53:02 who will stand up for Christ. 53:06 Stand up, stand up for Jesus, you soldiers of the cross. 53:10 And we should pray open our eyes, Lord. 53:14 We want to see Jesus, 53:16 to reach out and touch Him and say that we love Him. 53:22 Open our ears, Lord, and help us to listen. 53:28 Open our eyes, Lord. 53:31 We want to see Jesus. 53:36 It is this gospel that saves the soul 53:42 and for which the world is perishing. 53:49 And if we open up our hearts and confess our sins, 53:54 and our laziness and our spirit will sloth 53:59 and we cry out in mercy. 54:03 We will no longer be colorblind, 54:07 but we will see Christ on the cross, 54:10 and we will be saved by grace. 54:17 The Carter Report is a self supporting ministry 54:20 with a global mission. 54:21 We believe that the most important thing 54:24 that we can do in this tremendous hour 54:26 is to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ. 54:30 Because Jesus said, 54:31 "I am the way, the truth and the life." 54:34 We do not believe that this is business as usual. 54:38 We believe that we are living in the closing hours 54:41 in the history of this world. 54:43 Bless your heart, friend. 54:45 Look at the signs that are being fulfilled almost everyday. 54:48 The signs of the times are shouting at us. 54:52 And they're saying, "Jesus is coming soon." 54:55 I want you to be my partner in global mission. 54:59 I want you to be my partner in helping 55:01 to tell the world about the coming of Jesus. 55:04 I want you to be my partner 55:06 in the preaching of the distinctive truths 55:10 of the Three Angels Messages. 55:12 Please, check us out at the new "Carter Report" website, 55:17 cartereport.org. 55:19 We have a special section whereby you can ask questions 55:24 and I will give you the answers 55:26 from the living world of the living God. 55:29 That is the cartereport.org. 55:34 My friend, we want you to join us in the mission 55:38 to preach the gospel in China, in India, 55:42 in Australia, in Africa, in the United States of America, 55:47 wherever people are lost 55:49 and wherever people need to hear the good news that Jesus saves. 55:55 Please, check us out. 55:56 The new "Carter Report" website, cartereport.org. 56:01 I want to hear from you today. 56:20 Would ever seek a place 56:25 Of humble service in Your house 56:32 To gaze into the light 56:37 that is Your face 56:46 Oh, let me be a servant, 56:54 a keeper of the door 56:59 My heart is only longing 57:06 to see forever more 57:12 The glory of Your presence 57:18 the dwelling of the Lord 57:24 Oh, let me be a servant, 57:33 a keeper of the door. |
Revised 2014-12-17