Participants: Pr. John Carter
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001628A
|
00:14 Let's get started.
00:15 The topic is, "Spirits, Demons 00:20 and Talking to the Dead." 00:24 Is there such a person as the devil? 00:28 I want you to notice a text today, 00:30 it's found in 1 John 4:8. 00:32 And this perhaps is the greatest text 00:36 we're going to read today. 00:38 That's why put it up the front here 00:39 1 John 4:8, 00:49 I believe it is. 00:50 Here it is, it says, 00:52 "He who does not love does not know God..." 00:56 What does it say? 00:58 "The God is love." 01:02 Because God is love, 01:04 God created us with the ability to choose, 01:10 and God has given to everyone of us 01:12 the gift of freedom. 01:14 I want you to know this,. 01:15 God never coerces the conscience 01:21 Now we know of great religious systems 01:24 that are based on fear. 01:26 It is obvious that God is not behind those systems 01:29 because the Bible says, God is love. 01:33 Now, I want you to hear this. 01:36 The authority in these meetings is a very special authority. 01:42 It's not the church, it's not me, 01:45 but if you turn in your Bibles 01:46 to the Book of Isaiah 8:19 and 20. 01:51 Isaiah 8:19 and 20, 01:55 Isaiah 8:19 and 20, 02:01 we got the text, the Bible says, 02:04 "When they say to you, 02:05 'Seek those who are mediums and wizards, 02:08 who whisper and mutter,' 02:10 should not a people seek their God? 02:13 Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? 02:16 To the law and to the testimony. 02:19 If they do not speak according to this word, 02:21 it is because there is no light in them." 02:25 I just want you to hear this and be very plain on this. 02:30 Our authority in these meetings is not the church, 02:36 because the Christian church has frequently erred 02:40 and continues to do so, 02:42 it's not the church, it's not the pope, 02:45 even though he may be very nice man. 02:49 It is not the priest, 02:50 because he's a sinner like the rest of us, 02:52 same as the pope. 02:54 It is not the television evangelist, 02:57 not the pastor, 02:58 but the Holy Spirit speaking through God's word. 03:03 Sometime ago when I was in the great city of Sydney, 03:06 lady came along to the meetings at the Sydney Opera House, 03:10 and after those meetings she asked to see me, 03:13 she said, "I can't believe a word 03:16 that you said is true." 03:18 I said why not. 03:19 She said, "Because sometime ago, 03:22 some months ago I lost my husband, 03:25 we were so close, we loved each other." 03:30 She said, I've been praying that 03:33 something would happen 03:34 and that God would bring him back. 03:36 She said the other night I was sitting in the kitchen, 03:39 heard a rattling at the door, 03:42 there he was in the same old clothes. 03:46 The casual clothes that he love to wear. 03:49 He came in and we sat down and talked about things 03:53 that nobody knew, but my husband and I. 03:56 So she said, you may have the Bible, 04:00 I have a greater authority 04:01 because I spoke to my dead husband. 04:06 Now, we're going to have a little of summary 04:08 what I spoke about last time. 04:11 Every single religion in the world believes 04:17 that the dead are alive, 04:19 because they believe in the immortality of the soul, 04:22 for instance, the ancient Egyptians, 04:25 Babylonians, the Greeks the, the Romans, 04:28 our dear friends the Roman Catholics, 04:30 the Mormons, the Muslims, 04:33 most Protestants and the Orthodox churches. 04:38 I'm gonna tell you today that every religion 04:40 in the world believes in the immortality of the soul 04:44 and they believe that the dead are actually alive 04:47 except one religion 04:49 and that is the religion of the Bible. 04:55 And today we are not going to go according 04:59 to the authority of my church, 05:03 we are going to go 05:04 according to the authority of the living word of God. 05:08 Now we're gonna have a little summary of the last meeting. 05:11 Number one, the dead know nothing, 05:14 we're going to talk about 05:15 the condition of man in death. 05:17 The dead know nothing. 05:20 The text is Ecclesiastes 9:5, 05:24 I'm going to give you lots of text, 05:26 Ecclesiastes 9:5 05:31 the Bible says, 05:32 "For the living know that they will die, 05:35 but the dead know nothing 05:41 and they have no more reward, 05:42 for the memory of them is forgotten. 05:46 I'm told by millions of people that 05:48 when a person dies all of a suddenly 05:51 he's in the presence of God 05:52 and he knows everything, 05:55 but the Bible says, the dead know nothing. 05:58 The Bible teaches that God alone in immortal, 06:02 which means that I do not have an immortal soul. 06:05 The text is 1 Timothy 6:15 and 16 06:12 in the New Testament, 06:13 1 Timothy 6:15 and 16 it says, 06:20 "Which He will manifest in His own time, 06:23 He who is the blessed and only Potentate, 06:25 the King of kings and Lord of lords, 06:28 who alone has immortality, 06:31 dwelling in unapproachable light, 06:33 whom no man has seen or can see, 06:36 to whom be honor and everlasting power. 06:38 Amen." 06:40 The Bible says, don't forget this, 06:42 my Catholic friends and my Protestant friends. 06:45 The Bible says, God alone has immortality. 06:50 And if God alone has immortality, 06:52 then it is a falsehood to say that I have an immortal soul. 06:58 The Bible teaches that the dead saints are sleeping. 07:03 Acts 7:59 and 60. 07:08 Acts 7:59 and 60. 07:14 Acts 7:59, 07:17 "And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God 07:20 and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 07:23 Then he knelt down 07:25 and cried out with a loud voice, 07:26 "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." 07:29 And when he said this, he fell asleep. 07:34 The Bible does not says the churches teach 07:37 that Stephen went into the presence of God 07:40 and went to heaven, 07:41 the Bible says, he fell asleep. 07:44 And this of course is the teaching 07:46 of Jesus Christ our Lord. 07:48 Come over here to John 11:11-14, 07:52 John 11:11-14, 07:56 "These things He said, and after that He said to them, 07:59 "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, 08:00 but I go that I may wake him up." 08:03 Then His disciples said, 08:04 "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." 08:07 However, Jesus spoke of..." 08:10 What does it say? 08:11 "His death, 08:13 but they thought that He was speaking 08:14 about taking rest in sleep. 08:16 Then Jesus said to them plainly, 08:20 "Lazarus is dead." 08:22 ' So Jesus our Lord said, 08:25 the dead are sleeping. 08:27 Listen carefully my beloved Catholic 08:29 and my Protestant friends 08:31 and my Muslim friends, 08:33 Stephen is sleeping, he knows nothing, 08:38 Peter is sleeping, John is sleeping, 08:43 the great Saint Paul, 08:45 the great Saint Peter, they are sleeping. 08:47 And what is more, 08:48 the Bible teaches the Blessed Virgin Mary is sleeping, 08:53 that is why the Bible tells me 08:54 I should pray to God and to God alone 08:57 and only Christ can save, not the Blessed Virgin Mary, 09:01 because the Bible says she is sleeping. 09:04 I want you to come over here to 1 Corinthians 15:3- 6, 09:08 1 Corinthians 15, 09:11 the Bible is very, very plain on this subject. 09:15 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, 09:19 "For I delivered to you first of all 09:21 that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins 09:26 according to the Scriptures, that's the gospel, 09:30 and that He was seen by Cephas, 09:33 then by the twelve. 09:35 After that He was seen by 09:36 over five hundred brethren at once, 09:38 of whom the greater part remain to the present, 09:42 but some have fallen asleep." 09:46 So here the Bible contrast the living with the dead 09:51 and the Bible says that the dead are sound asleep, 09:56 and the dead know nothing. 10:02 Therefore we shall ask in a moment 10:05 then who are the spirits in spiritism 10:09 that some of you may be consulting. 10:13 And the Bible even tells us of one character 10:16 who most people say he is in heaven 10:17 and the Bible says plainly, 10:19 he is not in heaven, and that is King David. 10:21 Come over here to Acts 2:34, 10:26 Acts 2:34, 10:31 Acts 2:34, the Bible says, 10:35 "For David did not ascend into the heavens, 10:39 but he says himself: 'The Lord said to my Lord, 10:41 "Sit at My right hand.' 10:43 " The Bible says, David in not in heaven. 10:47 When you say the church is disagreeable, 10:48 I really, I'm not concerned. 10:51 I'd be concerned if the word of God was contrary 10:54 to what I'm saying, hear what I'm saying. 10:57 The Bible tells me that the saints are sleeping 11:01 and the saints know nothing. 11:04 Therefore when people are praying to the saints, 11:09 they are praying to dead people, 11:12 and the dead people can't hear them 11:16 and the dead people know nothing. 11:18 This is the word of the Lord, 11:20 and the Bible teaches that 11:22 death is not what we 11:25 look upon as our friend. 11:31 The Bible teaches the resurrection is our hope, 11:34 not death. 11:35 Come over here to 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and 16, 11:41 1 Thessalonians 4 11:46 and here we got a text 11:47 that talks once again about death 11:51 and the great hope that we have. 11:53 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 11:58 "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, 12:00 concerning those who have, what? 12:03 Who've fallen asleep, 12:05 he is telling about dead people, 12:06 those who have fallen asleep, 12:09 lest you sorrow as others who have no hope." 12:12 And verse 16 he says, 12:14 "For the Lord Himself will descend 12:16 from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, 12:20 and the trumpet call of God, the trumpet of God. 12:22 And the dead in Christ will rise first." 12:26 So the Bible teaches that death is not our hope, 12:32 but our hope is the resurrection. 12:36 On that day I'm going to see my old father, 12:41 I'm going to see my mother. 12:44 I won't see them as old people, 12:46 they'll be young people with a broom 12:49 of eternal youth upon their foreheads. 12:53 My friend Graham Bradford 12:56 will walk out of the tomb. 13:01 When I conducted his funeral, I quoted the words, 13:04 'Rest in piece, rise in glory, 13:08 to a true believer death is only a shadow," 13:12 but it is not our hope, 13:14 but we believe in the coming of Christ 13:17 and in the resurrection of the dead. 13:20 And the Bible teaches that all who sleep in death 13:23 good and bad are going to be resurrected. 13:27 Come over here to the words of Christ. 13:29 John 5:28 and 29, 13:33 John 5 to the words of Christ. 13:37 John 5:28 and 29, the Bible says, 13:42 Jesus says, "Do not marvel at this, 13:45 for the hour is coming 13:49 in which all who are in the, where? 13:52 No, not in heaven or in purgatory or in hell, 13:56 those who are in graves will hear His voice 14:00 and come forth those who have done good, 14:03 to the resurrection of life, 14:05 and those who have done evil, 14:07 to the resurrection of damnation." 14:12 Listen... 14:16 If you and I don't meet again, 14:19 we're going to meet in the resurrection day. 14:23 Everybody is going to be there. 14:26 Man said to me once, he said, 14:30 I don't believe any of that he said, 14:32 when I die, I go six feet under 14:36 and that he said is the end of me. 14:40 I said no, my friend, 14:41 it's only the very start of you. 14:44 Because the day is going to come 14:47 when God's people, 14:48 all of God's people like Martin Luther, 14:51 the Apostle Paul, 14:53 the Blessed Virgin Mary, 14:55 Saint Peter who is now sleeping. 14:59 Now, my beloved friends in the Roman Catholic Church 15:02 believe that their church is build upon Saint Peter. 15:08 If that is true, 15:10 then the church is built upon a dead man. 15:15 I don't want to belong to a church 15:17 that is built upon a dead man. 15:21 I want to belong to a church 15:23 that is built not upon a dead man, 15:25 but upon our living Christ. 15:29 And the true church 15:30 of the living God is a living church, 15:32 because it is built upon our living Jesus, 15:36 but the Bible teaches 15:38 the wicked are also going to be raised. 15:42 Who are the wicked? 15:43 Any person outside of Christ. 15:46 These people died hating God and cursing God, 15:51 but one day they are going to be resurrected, 15:54 Hitler, and Stalin, 15:56 and Mao Zedong and a billion more. 16:01 Every person who is turned away from God 16:05 and fought God and rejected his gospel. 16:10 May be some of you who are watching the telecast. 16:16 The Bible says, every person. 16:19 And there's something we need to know. 16:22 We can fool a lot of people. 16:25 We can fool our spouses. 16:27 We can fool the church pastor. 16:30 We can even fool the US government. 16:34 We can fool the taxation department. 16:37 You can do a lot of fooling 16:39 and you can do a lot of cheating, 16:41 but you can't fool God, 16:44 because one day we're all going to come back, 16:49 but the righteous are going to be raised immortal. 16:53 They're going to be raised in glory, 16:56 but the wicked are going to come up 16:58 just as they died. 17:02 And then they're going to face God in judgment. 17:09 You know, this is what make us 17:12 think about our soul salvation. 17:15 You know, I know people 17:17 who've gone through their lives cheating, 17:21 living a lie, stealing, gossiping, 17:26 I'm talking about people in the church. 17:30 I'm not talking about the people 17:32 on Hollywood Boulevard, 17:35 'cause sometimes I think 17:36 they've got a better opportunity 17:38 to be saved than some people in the church. 17:41 So many saying well, 17:43 what is he saying well for, it's the truth. 17:46 My wife Beverley just gave me a book, 17:48 new book by Philip Yancey Vanishing Grace. 17:53 Gonna sure get it Vanishing Grace 17:56 because he says, 17:58 grace is vanishing from the world, 18:01 because grace is vanishing the church. 18:05 And he said one of the reasons, 18:08 so many people have left the church 18:11 has been because... 18:15 You want to hear it? 18:17 The meanness of folks of the church, yeah. 18:22 The people, they're meanest, 18:26 hardest on other people, 18:29 curse other people, 18:31 hold up sign saying burn, 18:34 so and so burn in the name of Jesus, yeah. 18:39 Well, I want you to know God is an impartial God 18:45 and there's coming a judgment day 18:47 and you won't be dealing with me 18:50 and you won't be dealing with the church 18:52 and you won't be dealing with your spouse, 18:55 you'll be dealing with Almighty God 18:58 as He sits upon the great white throne. 19:04 So every person is going to come back 19:08 Hitler, Stalin and all of those monsters. 19:11 I've had people come to me and they say, 19:13 "Oh, you can't be judgmental." 19:15 Oh, I can't be judgmental on that. 19:18 You're gonna tell me a person who died hating God, 19:21 cursing God is gonna be saved. 19:24 Don't do, please don't even start. 19:29 When I was looking after church in Los Angeles, 19:32 some of my folks went along to a funeral service 19:36 taken by a pastor 19:37 who claims to believe the truth. 19:42 He took the funeral service of a person 19:45 who had died in a great state of sin, 19:50 blaspheming God 19:53 but this man was such a humbug 19:58 and such a hypocrite. 19:59 He said one millisecond before he died, 20:04 Jesus appeared and said, 20:06 what do you want, heaven or hell? 20:07 And the man said heaven. 20:09 He said, well, you're in. 20:12 That's a lie, that's a lie. 20:17 There is only one deathbed repentance in the Bible. 20:21 Did you know this? 20:22 Only one. 20:23 So we don't presume on the grace of God, 20:26 only one. 20:28 We're not talking cheap grace here today. 20:31 And we live in a part of the world 20:33 where everybody goes to heaven, 20:35 even the mafia members go to heaven, 20:37 you know this, even the mafia. 20:39 Oh, they are first people in heaven, 20:42 because they've gone along to confession 20:44 and the priest has absolved them, 20:47 it's a lie. 20:50 There's only one, 20:53 so that no one will presume on the grace of God 20:56 but there is one soul no one will despair. 21:00 And remember this, 21:02 the person who plans to repent 21:03 at the eleventh hour usually dies at 5 to 11. 21:09 You know, you know, that's true. 21:11 Hear this, the person who plans to repent 21:14 at the eleventh hour he dies at 10:55. 21:19 Hear what we're saying, 21:21 so I'm not talking here today a cheap grace religion. 21:27 And some people believe that at the very end 21:30 even the devil is going to be saved. 21:36 Don't believe it folks. 21:39 And so I hope I've made this truth very plain. 21:42 This is the first great pillar 21:46 that I want to establish today. 21:50 The dead are unconscious, 21:52 the Blessed Virgin Mary is unconscious. 21:57 When the people say praise to the dead, 22:01 they are being deceived. 22:04 The dead are sleeping, they're not in pain. 22:08 The Bible tells us God is love. 22:10 Let's think this through. 22:11 What sort of God would He be, 22:14 He takes our loved ones home to glory, 22:17 and they look down upon this world 22:20 and they see the pain. 22:22 They see their loved ones dying of cancer. 22:26 The Bible says God is love. 22:27 What sort of God do they serve, 22:30 if they are going to have a loved one in heaven 22:31 looking down watching our loved one die of cancer? 22:37 No, no, no, 22:39 this is a peaceful beautiful sleep, 22:43 no worries, no pains, 22:47 a beautiful sleep 22:49 until Jesus says time to wake up. 22:53 Now, now listen. 22:58 If... 23:01 now don't get mad with me, 23:02 because I'm telling you the truth. 23:04 Jesus said you'll know the truth 23:06 and the truth will make you free, okay. 23:09 We should not be afraid of the truth 23:12 because this Bible was inspired by God who is love. 23:18 Now, if the dead are unconscious 23:22 who are the beings that pretend to be the dead? 23:27 If the dead are unconscious, 23:30 who are the beings, who are, 23:33 who, who are these spirits? 23:37 You say, do you believe in spirits? 23:39 Yes, I do. 23:41 I have a reason to believe in spirits 23:43 and by the time we're through today, 23:46 I think the biggest skeptic 23:48 in this audience will believe also. 23:51 Come over here to Revelation 12, 23:53 you folks doing all right today? 23:56 and onwards. 24:00 Revelation 12:7 and onwards you're ready to go. 24:07 "And war broke out in heaven..." 24:10 But that's a bit amazing. 24:12 "And war broke out in heaven: 24:14 Michael is another name for Jesus, 24:17 and his angels fought against dragon, 24:20 and the dragon and his angels fought, 24:23 but they did not prevail, 24:25 nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 24:30 So the great dragon was cast out, 24:32 that serpent of old, 24:35 called the Devil and Satan, who deceives..." 24:38 what does it say? 24:39 A whole world with a little exception. 24:42 "He was cast to the earth, 24:45 and his angels were cast out with him." 24:51 In the next session 24:53 which is tied in with this program, 24:56 I'm going to talk about a being of tremendous beauty. 25:02 When I talk to folks and I say what do you... 25:04 do you believe in? 25:05 Oh, no, I couldn't believe in that character, 25:09 the dragon with a pitchfork neither do I, 25:13 but the Bible teaches that eons ago, 25:18 there was a war among the celestial beings. 25:24 And the Bible says, 25:26 they were good angels or good sprits and bad spirits. 25:32 There was a great rebellion lead by a person 25:36 who was called in the KJV 25:38 which we will discover in the next session 25:40 called Lucifer, 25:44 which is not a good translation. 25:47 It really means the shining one, 25:52 the one of immense charisma and glory. 25:58 In our next session 26:00 we'll talk about Demons, and Evil Spirits. 26:20 Hello, friend. 26:22 I'm John Carter in Havana, Cuba. 26:25 I'm standing here in Revolutionary Square. 26:29 This great square is dedicated 26:31 to the great communist revolution under Fidel 26:35 that came to this country back 50, 60 years ago. 26:39 This place is still undergoing a revolution. 26:43 We've come to check out the reality of the situation. 26:48 Freedom of speech is not allowed here still. 26:51 Preaching the gospel out of doors is not allowed here, 26:55 still whatever you hear about reconciliation, 26:58 nothing has really changed. 27:01 We've been told, 27:02 we cannot run public campaigns in Cuba 27:07 in any part of this world. 27:10 We can run meetings in churches, 27:12 that's allowed. 27:14 So what are we going to do? 27:15 We're going to support the people of God 27:17 in this part of the world. 27:18 We're going to step through those doors 27:21 as God opens those doors. 27:23 We're not going to come and cause a commotion 27:28 and cause trouble to the people of God. 27:31 We will work diligently 27:33 and as wise as serpents 27:37 and as harmless as doves. 27:40 Stand with us in the preaching of the gospel, 27:42 wherever it is, stand with us. 27:45 Write to me, P.O. Box 1900, 27:47 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 27:50 In Australia, write to me at the address 27:52 which is now appearing on the screen at Terrigal. 27:56 And let us go forward for a mighty spiritual revolution, 28:01 as we take the Gospel of Christ 28:04 to the lost around the world 28:06 as God opens the doors. 28:08 This is John Carter in Revolutionary Square, 28:12 in Havana, Cuba saying to you, 28:15 God bless you and thank you for your support. 28:22 For a copy of today's program, 28:24 please contact us at P.O. Box 1900, 28:28 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 28:32 Or in Australia contact us at 28:35 P.O. Box 861, Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:41 This program is made possible 28:43 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:46 We thank you for your continued support. 28:49 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2016-09-26