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Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001701A
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00:01 The Carter Report presents "Living Victoriously".
00:06 Secrets of Success from Prime Minister Daniel 00:08 of Babylon City 00:10 with your host John Carter. 00:25 We're glad to see you today. 00:27 But we want to give you the most wonderful welcome, 00:30 the warmest welcome. 00:32 Our topic today is "Living Victoriously". 00:36 This in fact is the first of a new series. 00:40 Twelve parts in the series "Living Victoriously" 00:44 why you and I can be always victors 00:49 and never victims. 00:51 Hear a lot of people who talk today 00:53 and they consider that they're victims 00:54 because of their race, or their color, 00:57 or their background, or because of their economics. 01:01 But we're going to discover in this series 01:03 that we are victors and never victims. 01:09 I want to start today by telling you 01:10 a really terrific story. 01:13 A man who travels with us on occasions 01:15 is Dr. John Hammond from Australia. 01:17 His parents were extraordinary people. 01:23 Dr. Brian Hammond was a doctor. 01:26 Not just an ordinary doctor, he was just a great doctor. 01:30 He was sent as a missionary doctor 01:33 to the little place of Penang 01:36 in Malaya, 01:38 or Malaysia we call it today. 01:41 He was a regular GP, 01:43 but he had a vision to go higher 01:45 and bigger and better. 01:49 So he studied up to 20 hours a day. 01:52 And he wanted to sit for the exams 01:54 and let me, just want to get this right 01:56 so I'm not telling you something that isn't accurate. 01:59 He wanted to sit for the Royal College of Surgeons 02:05 in Edinburgh 02:07 and in these days that was about as, 02:10 as good as you can imagine the Royal College of Surgeons 02:15 in Scotland in Edinburgh, 02:17 he studied, and he studied and he studied 02:20 and just before the final exams, 02:22 he received this notice. 02:27 It was going to be on Saturday. 02:31 And this man was a Sabbath keeper. 02:33 Have you seen the movie "Chariots of Fire?" 02:36 This was over Sabbath keeping. 02:39 Dr. Hammond was a Sabbath keeper, 02:42 he kept the true Sabbath of the Bible. 02:45 And so he went to the people in Edinburgh 02:48 at the university 02:50 of the Royal College for surgeons 02:52 and he said, "Can I take it another day? 02:55 Can somebody supervise me 02:58 and then I take it another day?" 02:59 And they said, "No." 03:02 That means no. 03:04 "If you don't sit on Saturday, you're out." 03:11 And so Saturday came 03:14 and went, 03:16 he didn't sit for the exam. 03:18 And he said to his wife and his family, 03:21 "Well, we just have to pack up and go back to Australia 03:23 because it's not going to work out." 03:27 Then he got a phone call from Glasgow, 03:30 the Royal College of Surgeons in Glasgow. 03:34 They said, "Dr. Hammond, 03:36 if you can get here on Tuesday, 03:40 you can take the exam." 03:44 John told me, they drove like crazy. 03:48 And the doctor was studying 20 hours a day, 03:51 he's studying in the car. 03:55 Got to Glasgow, did the course 03:58 and he passed first time, 04:01 quite astounding first time he passed, 04:05 and then when he got home, 04:07 he got another phone call, it was from Dublin. 04:11 And they said, "We've heard about your situation 04:13 that you wouldn't sit for this exam on Saturday 04:15 because of your religious convictions." 04:18 The people said in Dublin, 04:20 "If you come across 04:21 to the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin 04:24 and get here by such and such a day, 04:27 you can sit for the exam." 04:30 And so they got on a boat 04:32 and they went to Ireland and he sat for the exam. 04:36 And he passed at first time. 04:38 He was a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons 04:42 in Glasgow and in Dublin. 04:46 That he had a dream in his soul, 04:49 if I could only become a member, 04:52 a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons 04:58 in England at that time it was very best in the world. 05:07 And so he went to England, 05:09 400 doctors went with him, 05:13 400 doctors set for the examination. 05:18 Thirty two passed. 05:21 Not necessarily on the first go 05:23 but after multiple tries, 32 passed 05:26 but three passed on the first attempt. 05:31 He was one of the three. 05:35 I just want you to know this 05:37 that if you, and I want to say this 05:39 to any of the young people who are watching here today. 05:42 If you and I will purpose in our hearts 05:46 that we will put God first, 05:49 God is going to make us ten times better. 05:54 I want you to know this. 05:56 And we will never, never, never be victims, 06:00 we will always be victors. 06:04 Now this is the first of a 12 part series. 06:08 We're going to talk today about secrets of success 06:11 from the prime minister, not of Great Britain, 06:14 but the prime minister of Babylon. 06:17 The most amazing city, the most influential city 06:22 in the history of the human race. 06:26 And the star of the show is really a young man 06:29 by the name of Daniel, a Jewish captive of war 06:34 whose writings tell us how to live victoriously. 06:38 This is 12 part series, and some of the programs 06:42 are going to be about these subjects 06:47 that I'm going to put up on the screen. 06:51 Twelve part series, 06:54 let me just give you some of them. 06:57 How to be 10 times better in every way, that's today. 07:00 Number two, you have a wonderful future 07:03 in a tremendous, a wonderful new world. 07:07 Saved from death 07:08 and how you can get the big promotion. 07:12 It doesn't depend upon your boss, 07:14 it depends upon somebody else. 07:16 Recovery from mental illness 07:20 and financial disaster. 07:23 Conquering death and waking up in glory. 07:26 And so, today we're going to tell you 07:28 how you can be 10 times better in every way. 07:32 God has a plan for you, my friend, 07:35 sitting here today in our studio in California. 07:38 A plan that is bigger 07:39 and better than you can imagine. 07:42 He wants you to experience a life 07:44 that is 10 times better than anybody else around you. 07:48 We are never called to failure. 07:50 We are always called to victory. 07:54 The setting is the old city of Babylon, 07:58 the hero is Daniel, the Jew, 08:02 one of the great characters in the story, 08:05 is a young fellow by the name of Nebuchadnezzar. 08:12 We're going to discover secrets of success 08:16 from the prime minister of Babylon. 08:20 He was a prisoner of war and ended up the prime minister 08:24 or like the president of the United States. 08:28 Now source material is the Book of Daniel. 08:32 It consists of 12 amazing chapters, 08:35 all containing exciting and extraordinary stories, 08:40 stories about wild animals, 08:44 cruel tyrants, fiery furnaces, 08:49 a crazy king, 08:52 a prince of peace, 08:55 supernatural visitors from other worlds 08:59 and a new world. 09:01 Now, I want you sitting here today 09:04 in our studio to take the Bible 09:06 and turn to the Book of Daniel 12:1-2, my friend. 09:12 Daniel 12:1-2, 10 times better, 09:18 you can be 10 times better. 09:21 "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah. 09:26 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon 09:28 came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 09:32 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, 09:36 with some of the articles of the house of God. 09:40 These were the golden vessels 09:42 which he carried into the land of Shinar 09:44 to the house of his god, 09:45 and he brought the articles 09:47 in the treasure house of his god." 09:52 The Bible tells the story how Jerusalem was besieged. 09:57 And eventually the city was completely destroyed. 10:01 And Nebuchadnezzar 10:03 who was a just a young guy himself like Daniel 10:07 and we're going to discover three young men also. 10:12 Nebuchadnezzar whose name is written down 10:14 actually in these inscriptions 10:16 that I have taken pictures of in the British Museum, 10:20 this is the Nebuchadnezzar stela. 10:22 Nebuchadnezzar got a big bunch of young Jews. 10:27 I don't know how many, 10:28 maybe a hundred or more, I don't know, 10:31 but he brought them over to the land of Babylon. 10:34 And he brought them there 10:35 because he was going to teach them the wisdom, 10:37 and the signs, 10:39 and the understanding of the Chaldeans 10:42 or the Babylonian people. 10:43 And one of those young people was Daniel. 10:49 If you look at verses 3 to 6 please in this chapter. 10:54 "Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, 10:57 the master of his eunuchs, 10:59 to bring some of the children of Israel 11:01 and some of the king's descendants 11:03 and some of the nobles..." 11:05 These are the best. 11:07 "Young men in whom there was no blemish, 11:11 these young men were not eunuchs, 11:13 but good-looking, 11:14 gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge 11:17 and quick to understand, 11:20 who had ability to serve in the king's palace, 11:23 and whom they might teach the language 11:25 and the literature of the Chaldeans 11:28 or the Babylonians." 11:29 And if you read on, it says, 11:31 "And the king appointed for them a daily provision 11:33 of the king's delicacies 11:35 and of the wine which he drank, 11:38 and three years of training for them, 11:40 so that at the end of that time 11:41 they might serve before the king. 11:44 Now among those of the sons of Judah were, here they are, 11:48 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah." 11:55 And when you read these stories, 11:58 you think of old folks. 12:01 You think of folks of God, 12:03 wrinkles and got gray hair or white hair. 12:09 Do you know how old they were? 12:13 On this occasion, 12:16 the best scholarship seems to indicate 12:19 that Daniel, Hananiah, 12:21 Mishael, and Azariah were young guys 12:24 of 16, 17, or 18 years of age. 12:29 A long, long way from home 12:32 and they are in the king's palace. 12:39 Life is full of tests 12:40 and they're going to get a tremendous test. 12:44 Because the king says, 12:45 "I'm going to take these young men 12:48 and I'm going to train these young Jews 12:51 so that they can be the very best 12:54 in the city of Babylon." 12:57 And they're going to get the very best. 13:00 They're going to get the best food, 13:03 they're going to get the best accommodation. 13:06 Everything is going to be the very best for them. 13:10 And I want you to know something, 13:12 want all the young people 13:14 watching this program to listen. 13:17 If you go, if you want to be 10 times better, 13:20 you've got to make up your mind first and foremost 13:24 that you're not going to be a conformist. 13:29 Dr. Hammond was not a conformist. 13:33 Tremendous pressure upon him, 13:34 you know, he'd gone from Australia to Scotland. 13:38 Everything was on the line 13:41 but he purposed in his heart, 13:43 he wasn't going to be a conformist. 13:45 The greatest people in this world 13:47 who are 10 times better are not sniveling conformists. 13:55 And when you're in a foreign country 13:57 and you're long way from mom and dad, 14:02 and you're in the camp of the enemy, 14:04 there is tremendous pressure to say, 14:07 I'm just going to go along with it. 14:09 I'm going to take my exams 14:12 exactly when they tell me to take my exams. 14:18 But the Bible tells me that God's non-conformist 14:22 always end up 10 times better. 14:25 Now I'm going to read on 14:27 a little bit further now please. 14:29 This is the great test for 7-21 this long passage, 14:33 7-21. 14:35 "To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: 14:37 he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar, 14:40 to Hananiah, Shadrach, to Mishael, Meshach, 14:43 and to, what does it say, 14:46 Azariah, yes, Abed-Nego. 14:50 We call them usually today 14:51 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, 14:53 they are the Babylonians names. 14:55 Verse 8 is one of the great text 14:57 in the ancient language. 14:59 "But Daniel purposed in his heart," 15:02 deep down inside. 15:04 This young guy of 16 or 17 said, 15:07 "I'm going to be true, I'm going to do what is right, 15:09 he purposed in his heart." 15:12 "That he would not defile himself 15:14 with the portion of the king's delicacies, 15:17 nor with the wine which he drank, 15:19 therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs 15:22 that he might not defile himself." 15:23 What was wrong with eating this stuff? 15:28 Well, firstly, most likely 15:31 it had been dedicated to the Babylonian gods. 15:35 Therefore eating this stuff would imply subservience 15:41 to the gods of the Babylonians. 15:43 So this young guy, thousand miles from home, 15:46 long way from mom and dad, 15:49 deep down inside he says, 15:51 "I am not going to defile myself. 15:56 And also talked about delicacies, 16:00 the food was rich, 16:02 the wine was intoxicating. 16:07 Think how easy it is to conform 16:12 when the pressure is on you 16:14 and you're a long way from home, 16:16 when you're working in Hollywood. 16:21 When you're working in LA, and everybody is doing it, 16:25 just to go with the crowd. 16:27 But this young guy of 16 years of age 16:30 purposed in his heart, you know the song, 16:32 "All God wants is a few good men." 16:37 Some of the greatest acts in the history of the world 16:40 have been done by young men 16:43 who purposed in their hearts. 16:46 This is a terrific story, it's a story of courage. 16:49 I was given a book by Beverly the other day on John Glenn. 16:54 It said, he was a guy had the right stuff. 16:57 I just admire John Glenn. 17:00 I admire those young men, they had terrific courage, 17:04 they were not conformers, they had backbones, 17:08 the right stuff they said about them. 17:12 Daniel had the right stuff. 17:15 Now verse 9, "Now God had brought Daniel 17:18 into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. 17:20 The chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, 17:22 'I fear my lord the king, 17:23 who has appointed your food and drink. 17:25 For why should he see your faces 17:27 looking worse than the young men 17:28 who are of your age? 17:30 Then you would endanger my head before the king." 17:34 So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs 17:36 had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 17:39 "Please test your servants for ten days, 17:43 let them give us vegetables to eat 17:45 and water to drink." 17:48 Vegetables to eat and water to drink. 17:52 "Then let our appearance be examined before you, 17:55 and the appearance of the young men 17:56 who eat the portion of the king's delicacies, 17:59 and as you see fit, 18:01 so deal with your servants." 18:03 So he consented with them in this matter, 18:05 and tested them ten days. 18:08 And at the end of ten days their features appeared better 18:11 and fatter in flesh than all the young men 18:14 who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. 18:17 Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies 18:20 and the wine that they were to drink, 18:23 and gave them vegetables. 18:26 Did you know somebody said, "Great eater and great drinkers 18:28 are seldom great at anything else." 18:31 And so here young guys getting the most simple food. 18:35 Verse 17, "As for these four young men, 18:39 God gave them knowledge 18:40 and skill in all literature and wisdom, 18:43 and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams." 18:48 And I want you to get this into your mind. 18:49 Here it is. 18:51 "Now at the end of the days, when the king had said 18:53 that they should be brought in, 18:55 the chief of the eunuchs brought them in 18:57 before Nebuchadnezzar." 18:58 He says to young guy himself. 19:00 "Then the king interviewed them, 19:03 and among them of all none was found 19:06 like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 19:10 therefore they served before the king. 19:13 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding 19:16 about which the king examined them, he found them..." 19:20 What does it say? 19:21 "He found them ten times better 19:25 than all the magicians and astrologers 19:28 who were in all his realm." 19:30 And the next verse is not the throwaway verse, 19:33 it's really a punch line, it says, 19:35 "Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus." 19:42 If my memory is working today that's about 70 years later. 19:48 Later on in the story 19:50 we're going to consider next week, 19:52 Daniel actually becomes the prime minister 19:56 for crying out loud. 19:58 He becomes the prime minister. 20:00 He becomes like the president 20:02 of the United States of America. 20:05 Becomes the prime minister of Great Britain, 20:08 just a, just a young guy. 20:11 And he brings in these other young guys 20:13 who stand around him. 20:15 He is the chief counselor to the greatest king 20:19 of the ancient world. 20:24 Now, 20:27 these young men, 20:29 the Bible says were 10 times better, 20:31 I've sometimes wondered 20:32 what happened to all the other young men. 20:36 So the king, you know, he brought over 20:38 from the land of Israel 20:40 all of these young guys, 20:41 he brought them all over from Jerusalem. 20:48 There was a little, little group of guys, 20:51 little group of Jews, 20:54 who purposed in their hearts, 20:57 they were a minority. 20:58 I want every person watching today, 21:00 every person watching the television program, 21:03 I want you to know this, 21:04 truth is usually not backed by the majority. 21:10 You know what I'm saying? 21:11 Now people say, 21:13 now I'm going to say something else to you. 21:16 I believe in democracy. 21:19 Winston Churchill said 21:20 and I'm a fan of Winston Churchill, 21:22 he said, "The very worst system in all the world 21:26 is the system of democracy." 21:30 Except all the others. 21:33 He said, it's the worst, except all the others 21:36 because the others are worst. 21:38 But you know what democracy does? 21:42 I'm not arguing about this, it's true. 21:45 Democracy puts in the person 21:49 that the vast majority, all the majority wants. 21:52 Doesn't mean it puts in a good person. 21:55 So you know, people say all we got democracy there 21:58 for the person who selected, 21:59 he's got to be the greatest. 22:01 No, no. 22:02 Did you know Hitler was elected with the democracy? 22:08 He got in with about 95% vote. 22:12 And so truth is not always 22:16 on the side of the big crowd. 22:22 Just want you to know this. 22:25 The people who are 10 times better 22:29 have learned to stand up 22:34 for what's right by themselves. 22:37 Now that's not easy. 22:43 That is tough, that is difficult 22:47 but that sorts out the men from the boys. 22:52 Four young guys 22:55 away from mommy and daddy. 22:59 Yeah, away from all their friends, 23:03 stuck over in a big, bad city like Los Angeles. 23:09 Tremendous pressure upon them 23:12 and they're purposed in their hearts, 23:16 no, we're not going to do it, 23:18 we are not going to worship the gods of the Babylonians, 23:23 not going to do this stuff. 23:24 We're not going to read the, eat this food 23:27 that is going to rot our brains, 23:29 we're not gonna do this. 23:32 Now I want you to know something else. 23:35 They were 10 times better 23:38 not because of what they put in their stomachs. 23:42 That helped a bit. 23:44 They were 10 times better 23:46 because God blessed them, 23:50 God made them 10 times better. 23:53 It wasn't because they were vegetarians, 23:56 because I know vegetarians who are not 10 times better. 24:03 They were better because God blessed them. 24:06 Now, this program is divided into two sections 24:11 and this section is going to end in a couple of minutes. 24:15 But I'm going to, what I'm going to do now, 24:18 I'm going to show you 24:19 a little bit about Desmond Doss, 24:21 and then I'm going to pick it up 24:22 and tell the story more fully in the next program. 24:26 But Desmond Doss was a young American. 24:34 What courage? 24:38 What courage? 24:39 Just a young guy, 24:43 he joined the army 24:45 when he could have got out of joining the army, 24:47 he could have got out joining the army, 24:49 but he was a patriot. 24:51 Desmond Doss was not a coward. 24:54 They said, we can give you an exemption, 24:58 but he went in the army as a medic 25:01 because he wouldn't carry a gun. 25:04 Now I'm not asking you to believe everything 25:06 that he believed. 25:08 I happen to sympathize with his beliefs. 25:11 He also believed in the keeping of the Bible Sabbath 25:15 like Dr. Hammond. 25:17 This was the guy 25:18 who got the congressional medal of honor. 25:21 Okinawa, a hell place, 25:24 a hell place, a hell place, 25:26 didn't get any worse. 25:28 Rescued their 75 young men. 25:32 At the end of it, the people who were fighting him, 25:35 and who were hating him, and persecuting him, 25:38 and turning their boots at him 25:39 when he was trying to say his prayers at night, 25:42 they wouldn't go into battle unless he went with them. 25:46 A young guy who never carried a gun. 25:49 You know why? 25:55 God made him 10 times better. 25:58 God will make you 10 times better, 26:01 if you purposed in your heart that you will follow Christ, 26:05 so help us God more in a moment. 26:21 We should never say something is impossible 26:23 because Jesus said, 26:25 "With God, all things are possible." 26:28 It seems impossible to think that a group of Americans, 26:33 Australians could come here to Castro's communist Cuba 26:38 and preach the gospel. 26:41 We're here with the permission of the Cuban government. 26:43 We've got special visas so we can preach here. 26:48 I've had the privilege of preaching 26:50 in the most difficult places, Moscow, 26:53 all across Russia, all around Ukraine, 26:56 dangerous places in Africa, 26:58 but this is one of the biggest miracles of all. 27:01 Here we are, a Carter Report team, 27:04 just a little team. 27:07 But we're here by the grace of God, 27:10 because with God all things are possible. 27:14 But God works through people, 27:16 He's working glory be to God we believe through us, 27:20 but He's also working my friend through you, 27:24 because of your prayers and your support, your gifts, 27:28 these people, many of them 27:30 are hearing the true gospel of Christ for the first time. 27:35 So my heart is full of thanks to God 27:38 and to you today. 27:40 Would you please drop me a line? 27:42 John Carter, PO Box 1900, 27:44 Thousand Oaks, California, 91358. 27:48 And of course, you can write to me 27:50 at Terrigal in Australia. 27:53 Let's get a fire going in this country. 27:58 We have established a beachhead on the shores of Castro's Cuba. 28:04 A gospel beachhead, not a military one. 28:08 We are the ambassadors of peace 28:10 and we've come here to preach the gospel of peace. 28:14 Stand with us and thank you for your support. 28:22 For a copy of today's program, 28:24 please contact us at PO Box 1900, 28:28 Thousand Oaks, California, 91358. 28:32 Or in Australia contact us at PO Box 861, Terrigal, 28:38 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 2017-04-03