Participants: Pr. John Carter
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001706A
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00:01 The Carter report presents "Living Victoriously,"
00:06 secrets of success 00:07 from Prime Minister Daniel of Babylon city 00:10 with your host John Carter. 00:25 Welcome back to living victoriously, 00:29 topic is "Saved from Death and The Big Promotion". 00:33 In the first segment we were talking about 00:35 these three young men down in the land of Babylon, 00:39 they were talking to Nebuchadnezzar, 00:40 he said, "You got to do so and so." 00:42 You got to bow down and worship this image. 00:45 And they came back with these words, 00:47 "We will not," 00:50 that's courage, that's conviction. 00:53 We put this up on the screen 00:55 looking at some great characters in history 00:57 who said, "We will not." 01:00 I told you the story of Mikhail Kulakov 01:04 in the program 01:05 that we just did a few moments ago. 01:08 When I was in China not that long ago, 01:11 I met a Chinese pastor, 01:14 very much like make Mikhail Kulakov. 01:17 When the communists came, 01:18 because communism doesn't believe 01:20 in freedom of speech. 01:21 You got very little freedom of speech in China today, 01:24 but it's better than what it used to be. 01:27 When the communists came, this man had a church, 01:30 preaching in the church. 01:32 They told him, 01:33 you've got to stop and you've got to stop now 01:35 and he said, "We will not." 01:37 We are not gonna do it. 01:39 He told me the story with his own mouth. 01:43 They put him in prison for ten years. 01:46 He was beaten every day by the atheists. 01:50 Every night he slept not on a bed 01:52 but he slept on concrete. 01:54 He was given rotten food to eat. 01:57 After ten years of beatings they let him out 02:00 and then they put him in another prison 02:02 to rehabilitate him, 02:04 and to make him into a good communist 02:06 but he kept saying the words, "We will not. 02:10 We're not gonna do this. 02:11 We're not gonna worship your gods. 02:13 We're not gonna worship 02:15 the great images that you've set up." 02:17 Then there was Martin Luther. 02:19 You all know about Martin Luther. 02:21 Martin Luther, the Diet of Worms. 02:23 They said to him, Martin Luther, 02:25 you just got to bow down, 02:27 you got to do what the great church tells you to do. 02:29 You've got to do 02:31 what the Church of Rome tells you to do. 02:32 Martin Luther said, "I will not 02:36 unless I'm convinced by the Word of God. 02:39 I will not." 02:40 And then there was another man, you'll know this man, 02:43 Martin Luther King, 02:45 who was named after the great Protestant reformer. 02:49 When they told Martin Luther King, 02:52 you've got to stop the marches, 02:54 you've got to stop all of this 02:56 what you're doing, all this agitating. 02:59 He and his followers said, "We will not." 03:04 Now there's a time when you need to conform 03:06 and there's a time I'm telling you today, 03:09 when you've got to say, "We will not." 03:13 And then there are some other words they said, 03:17 and even if he does not, God can deliver us 03:21 but even if he doesn't, 03:24 we still will not worship your gods. 03:27 Deliverance does not always come in this lifetime, 03:32 but I want you to know this, it is going to come. 03:36 God is going to deliver His people. 03:39 Now come with me to Daniel 3:19. 03:44 Daniel 3:19, 03:46 "Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury..." 03:49 He was a little pot soon hot. 03:52 "Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury 03:55 and the expression on his face 03:57 changed towards Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 04:01 He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace 04:04 seven times more than it was usually heated." 04:10 And then if you come now to verse, 04:12 we're going to read that verse again 04:13 because I want it to sink down into your minds. 04:16 "Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury..." 04:20 Fury lives in the heart of fools. 04:23 "And the expression on his face 04:25 changed towards Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. 04:29 He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace 04:32 seven times more than was usual heated. 04:36 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor 04:39 who were in the army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, 04:42 and Abed-Nego 04:43 and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 04:47 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, 04:50 their turbans, and their other garments, 04:52 and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 04:56 Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, 05:01 and the furnace exceedingly hot, 05:05 the flames of the fire killed those men 05:07 who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 05:10 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, 05:13 fell down bound 05:15 into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." 05:20 Do you understand where this is taking place? 05:23 This is in Iraq. This is Babylon. 05:27 When I was visiting Iraq some time ago, 05:31 I got out of the car, I walked off the road, 05:34 and as I went walked off the road, 05:38 I was wearing big boots, all of a sudden I felt, 05:40 I was sinking down into something. 05:43 I look down, you know, what I was sinking into? 05:47 Oil. 05:48 Just oozing up out of the ground, 05:50 this furnace was fueled by oil. 05:55 So they take these three young men 05:58 does this wicked king and they fling them 06:02 into the midst of this burning fiery furnace, 06:05 and the Bible says, listen to this, it says, 06:09 "They fell down." 06:12 But the good news is they didn't stay down 06:17 because God wasn't finished with them. 06:21 When you're down, 06:23 we just need to realize 06:25 when we're down it's not over 06:29 because deliverance is then at hand." 06:34 Now read verses 24 and 25 please. 06:39 "Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, 06:42 and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, 06:46 'Did we not cast three men bound 06:48 into the midst of the fire?' 06:50 They answered and said to the king, 'True, O king.'" 06:53 They were yes men, weren't they? 06:54 Yes, yes. 06:56 'Look!' he answered, 06:57 'I see four men loose, 07:00 walking in the midst of the fire, 07:02 and they are not hurt, 07:04 and the form of the fourth 07:07 is like the Son of God.'" 07:11 Bless your heart, it's just amazing. 07:16 Five young men, Nebuchadnezzar. 07:19 Just a young man, very poor character, 07:22 full of pride, and arrogance, he's a dictator. 07:26 He's a demagogue, 07:27 everybody worships him 07:29 and so they take these young guys 07:31 and they fling them into this 07:32 burning fiery furnace, it's hot. 07:35 It's not a fake fire. 07:39 Because the men who threw them into the fire, 07:41 they are killed by the heat 07:43 that is coming out of the mouth of that fire 07:46 and so they fall down, 07:49 but they don't stay down. 07:52 Because the king knocks 07:54 and there is another person 07:56 and he has a form like the Son of God. 08:01 That person is the Lord Jesus Christ. 08:06 The Lord Jesus Christ came down from glory 08:10 and he got there into that fiery furnace 08:13 and when the Lord Jesus Christ was with them, 08:16 they could not stay down. 08:20 They were standing up. 08:23 I want you to know this. 08:25 We are never, never alone in spite of appearances. 08:31 There's a text I want you to read 08:32 in 2 Kings 6:16-17 08:36 that is about the Prophet Elisha. 08:38 2 Kings 6:16-17, 08:42 "So he answered, 'Do not fear, 08:45 for those who are with us are more than those with them.' 08:51 And Elisha prayed, and said, 'Lord I pray, 08:55 open his eyes that he may see.' 08:58 Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, 09:03 and he saw. 09:05 And behold, the mountain was full of horses 09:07 and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 09:12 I just wondered if you can sort of grasp 09:14 that with your faith today, we are never, never alone. 09:20 You and I may seem sometimes to be standing alone 09:24 and the forces of the world are against us, 09:29 but the Bible teaches, we are never alone. 09:33 We are never forsaken, 09:36 we are never defeated. 09:41 I want to say this to you, look at who is with you, 09:46 the Son of God, 09:48 the creator of the universe, the Almighty God. 09:53 You don't need to be afraid of the lawsuit. 09:57 Have I had lawsuit? Yes, sure. 10:01 I've had people try to close me down. 10:04 You don't know about this. 10:06 I've had lawsuits packed by some other, 10:09 backed by some big attorneys in Los Angeles. 10:14 Based on lies and greed, 10:18 we're gonna close you down 10:19 and we're gonna get everything you've got. 10:24 It's where Satan seed is. 10:28 We didn't need to be afraid and we weren't afraid 10:31 because God completely defeated those people. 10:35 We do not need to fear people. 10:38 We need to fear God. Amen. 10:39 We need to trust in God. 10:41 We don't need to be afraid of the lawsuit, 10:44 the crooked attorney, the dishonest person, 10:48 the slanderer. 10:51 And let me tell you what happened back in Harare, 10:55 Zimbabwe. 10:57 Sun is going down, it's getting dark. 10:58 I'm supposed to be getting to the meeting. 11:00 There are thousands of people waiting in the Harare 11:03 International Conference Center 11:05 and I'm being marched down the road 11:07 and this guy in charge of the television station 11:11 is driving in a Peugeot car, still seeing, 11:14 his face out of the window cursing me. 11:17 Blaspheming the name of God, cursing me, 11:20 calling down curses upon me. 11:24 And then when I was in the thick of the jungle, 11:26 he turned it around 11:28 and drove back to the TV station. 11:29 The soldiers continued to march on both sides of me. 11:32 When he was out of sight, 11:33 they put down their guns and they hugged me. 11:36 They said, Pastor Carter, we come to your meetings. 11:41 They said, "We've been coming to all your meetings. 11:43 We're calling. We're getting a curfew now. 11:46 We're going to get you there on time." 11:50 Now, there was somebody else 11:52 who was marching with us beside these soldiers, 11:54 the angels of God, my friend. 11:57 We are never alone, 11:59 we should have a holy bonus. 12:04 Yeah. 12:05 When you are in the fire, deliverance is coming, 12:09 Jesus is coming. 12:11 I want you to notice Hebrews 13:5-6. 12:15 Hebrews 13:5-6, 12:19 "Let your conduct be without covetousness, 12:23 be content with such things as you have." 12:25 Don't get involved in lawsuits. 12:28 "For He himself has said, 12:29 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' 12:33 So we may boldly say, 12:35 'The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. 12:39 What can man do to me?'" 12:42 Don't you know this? 12:44 We need never be afraid. 12:47 On one occasion in Russia, 12:50 Beverley was up to front speaking. 12:52 A man came in, he was coming after me, 12:57 and he came up on the stage with a loaded gun. 13:03 And we had some bodyguards, 13:04 they tackled him and got him down. 13:09 He was one of their security forces. 13:12 Heard about the meetings, got so angry, 13:14 got himself drunk, and came down to kill me. 13:19 I can't tell you the whole story, 13:20 I don't have time. 13:23 Russia's top security people met with me the next day 13:27 and they said, "We're sorry, he'd come to kill you." 13:30 Then they said, "We're going to lock him up in prison 13:32 and throw away the key." 13:34 I knew that would be his death 13:37 because the prisons are so bad. 13:39 I said, "Why don't we just forgive him?" 13:42 They said, "What do you mean?" Forgiveness. 13:44 I said, "Why don't we just forgive him?" 13:47 They said, "Would you forgive him?" 13:48 I said, "I'll forgive him and I want you to forgive him." 13:53 Well, they said, "We've never heard anything like this, 13:55 but if you forgive him 13:58 then we'll do so too." 14:02 The young man came to the meeting the next night. 14:06 When I made an appeal, he gave his life to Christ. 14:11 He came and stood beside me 14:12 to protect me in all the meetings. 14:16 You don't have to be afraid of people, 14:20 what you've got to be afraid of is sin, 14:24 and compromise, and lying, 14:27 and cheating, and fake news, 14:30 and all this phoniness. 14:33 You better be afraid of that. 14:36 But you don't need to be afraid of the devil, 14:39 because Jesus licked him at the cross. 14:43 Jesus licked him at the cross. 14:45 Now look at Daniel 3:25 14:49 and onwards. 14:51 Gonna read this again, Daniel 3:25. 14:54 "'Look!' He answered, 'I see four men loose, 14:57 walking in the midst of the fire, 15:00 they're not hurt, 15:01 and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.' 15:07 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth 15:09 of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, 15:11 'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, 15:14 servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.' 15:17 Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego 15:20 came from the midst of the fire. 15:23 And the satraps, administrators, governors, 15:26 and the king's counselors gathered together, 15:29 and they saw these men on whose bodies 15:31 the fire had no power, 15:34 the hair of their head was not singed 15:37 not were their garments affected, 15:40 and the smell of fire was not on them." 15:45 It's bit amazing, isn't it? 15:50 I want you to know this. 15:52 I want this to go down into your head today, 15:54 into your soul, I wanted to get down 15:56 into the molecules of your mind. 16:00 One of our greatest problems is that we don't have faith. 16:05 It's one of our greatest problems. 16:07 We need to do so. Oh, no, we couldn't do it. 16:10 Can't be done. 16:12 Hear people say, no, it can't be done. 16:15 As you know we're planning to go back to Russia 16:17 in a few months. 16:20 That is dangerous. 16:22 Because of relations now in the world, 16:27 we just don't know what's going to happen. 16:31 I could tell you stories, but I can't say on television. 16:36 I can tell you stuff, 16:37 I just can't tell you. 16:43 But listen, I'm not at all afraid 16:48 when I go to Russia and I walk out on a stage 16:52 and often it's in the dark, 16:54 and we don't have people checking at the doors to see 16:57 if people have got guns. 16:59 We don't need to because we have God. 17:05 You see. 17:12 And the God who lived in Daniel's time 17:14 is just the same today. 17:18 These young men, you know, they wrote to him about it, 17:22 they wouldn't bow. 17:24 They wouldn't budge, they wouldn't bend, 17:28 and hallelujah they wouldn't burn, you see. 17:32 They were real men, they were just boys 17:36 but they were men. 17:37 They were not home sobbing and crying. 17:41 They were not having breakdowns. 17:44 They weren't saying, "Can't do it, it's awful." 17:48 No. 17:50 They looked the enemy in the eye and they said, 17:53 "We will not. Our God is able." 18:04 God always delivers His people but sometimes He delays. 18:08 I have a sermon that's called "The Delays of God". 18:14 Some of my friends in Australia 18:15 were Michael and Lindy Chamberlain, 18:17 have you heard of them? 18:19 There was a movie made about the Meryl Streep 18:22 played the part of Lindy. 18:25 Evil Angels it's called or A Cry in the Dark. 18:31 We changed a little bit here. 18:32 This is Lindy, beautiful young woman, 18:35 a minister's wife. 18:37 We knew them in North Queensland. 18:39 They went out to Ayers Rock 18:41 because they'd love the greater outback. 18:44 Australia is a huge country, as big as the, 18:48 as the United States of America with only 24 million people. 18:53 They went into the outback at Ayers Rock 18:55 and they were camping there. 19:00 And Lindy came out of the tent for a few minutes 19:02 to go to the camp fire 19:06 and she ran back and she cried, "A dingo has got my baby." 19:12 But Lindy and Michael were tried firstly in the court, 19:17 a popular opinion with a lot of religious bigotry. 19:24 They were found guilty of murder 19:27 and Lindy was put in prison in the Northern Territory, 19:31 the last frontier. 19:37 And then after years of being in that hellhole, 19:41 they found some evidence that suggested 19:43 that she was telling the truth, so they let her out. 19:48 But they would not declare that she was innocent 19:51 and it took years, 32 years. 19:57 Until there was a Royal Commission 19:59 which is a highest commission you could have in Australia 20:01 and they declared 20:03 that the Chamberlains were innocent, totally innocent 20:08 but there were 32 years of hell. 20:13 Sometimes God keeps you in the fire for a long time, 20:17 but He goes with you in the fire. 20:20 Deliverance comes but not always in a hurry. 20:26 Look at verse 27. 20:29 Verse 27, "And the satraps, administrators, governors, 20:33 and the king's counselors gathered together, 20:36 and they saw these men on whose bodies 20:39 the fire had no power, 20:42 the hair of their head was not singed 20:44 nor where their garments affected, 20:46 and the smell of fire was not on them." 20:49 You know, what the fire did? 20:52 The fire consumed only their ropes. 20:56 That's what the fire did. 20:59 The fire consumed their bonds, nothing else, 21:03 that's what fire is for. 21:05 That's why God lets you have trouble. 21:07 That's why God lets me have trouble 21:09 to get rid of the bonds. 21:11 Our trials will only destroy that which hinders us. 21:18 And if you have a great work to do for God, 21:21 you are going to have burning fiery furnaces. 21:29 But God delivers these people, always. 21:34 Our trials will only destroy that which hinders us. 21:37 They fell down but they didn't stay down. 21:41 Now the Bible teaches, we don't have time for this, 21:43 but this scene on the plain of Dura 21:47 is to be repeated on a worldwide scale. 21:54 When somebody will stand up 21:56 and with the spell of an orator. 22:03 He will sway the masses. How easily they are swayed. 22:08 How easy they will give up their beliefs. 22:11 How easily they'll give up that which is important 22:15 and they'll say, yes, yes, yes. 22:22 But God will always have His people. 22:26 Look at verse 28 and 29, "Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, 22:30 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, 22:32 and Abed-Nego, 22:33 who sent His angel and delivered His servants 22:36 who trusted in Him, 22:37 and they have frustrated the king's word, 22:39 and yielded their bodies, 22:40 that they should not serve nor worship any god 22:43 except their own God! 22:45 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, 22:49 or language which speaks anything amiss against the God 22:52 of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego..." 22:54 He knows nothing about religious freedom, this guy. 22:57 "Shall be cut in pieces, 22:58 and their houses shall be made an ash heap, 23:01 because there is no other God who can deliver like this." 23:07 No other God. 23:10 I want you to notice some key phrases here. 23:12 Let them sink down into the molecules 23:14 of your mind. 23:16 May God shake us out of our destiny complacency. 23:20 God send His angel. 23:24 They trusted in Him. 23:27 They defied the King's command. 23:31 They were willing to give up their lives. 23:35 And no other god can save like this God. 23:40 These great truths 23:41 should be the heart and soul 23:46 of our faith. 23:50 Today, the world and the church together are building 23:56 and breeding mediocre conformists... 24:04 Party animals, 24:06 people who are swayed by popular opinion 24:10 but God is going to have a people in the last days, 24:14 who'll be true to duty as a needle is to the pole. 24:18 Now look at verse 30. 24:21 "Then the king promoted 24:22 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego 24:24 in the province of Babylon." 24:26 This is the theme of these chapters, 24:28 great promotion. 24:31 Listen, God's people can expect promotion now. 24:38 God will look after you now. 24:43 It's true. 24:45 I'm a living witness to the fact 24:46 that God looks after people. 24:49 And number two, God is going to promote His people 24:54 and make them princes and princesses 24:58 in the Kingdom of God when Jesus comes. 25:02 "Promotion comes to those who faithfully serve God." 25:09 And when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 25:15 After the fiery furnace experience God's people, 25:21 hallelujah, those who are tried and through 25:25 and who are courageous 25:28 and they have the spiritual capacity to say, 25:32 "We will not. 25:35 We will serve God and only Christ." 25:39 Those people will be promoted to glory. 25:46 Amen. 25:48 So when you know this, 25:52 you can start living victoriously. 25:56 You can walk with a bounce in your step 26:00 because there is no god who delivers like our God. 26:06 Amen and amen. 26:17 Hi there, I'm John Carter in Havana, Cuba, 26:19 at this communist fortress. 26:22 We're here to preach the gospel of Christ to the public, 26:25 but more than this, 26:27 we are running a school of evangelism 26:29 and biblical studies for the Cuban pastors, 26:33 140 pastors coming from right across this wonderful island, 26:40 and they're coming to join with us 26:41 to study how best we can meet the needs 26:45 of the Cuban people. 26:47 The Cuban people are just the most wonderful people, 26:50 they're warm, friendly, 26:52 and I'm amazed that in the meetings every night 26:55 that we are taking 26:56 that I think most of the people there 26:59 are young people. 27:01 Now, of course, when I say young people, 27:02 I mean people up to say 35 years of age. 27:06 They're young to me, but they're so warm 27:10 and they're so receptive, 27:11 and when they come forward night by night 27:14 to accept Jesus, they come with tremendous sincerity. 27:18 So what a privilege it is to be here in the land of Cuba. 27:22 But remember to pray for the pastors. 27:26 One hundred and forty pastors are coming from Guantanamo Bay 27:31 and other places right across this island nation. 27:34 They're coming to join forces with us. 27:36 Think of this, they're coming from Guantanamo Bay 27:40 and everywhere. 27:41 We're going to meet with them, study with them, 27:44 pray with them, 27:45 to devise the best means of reaching this nation 27:50 for the Lord Jesus Christ, 27:52 and thank you for being my special partner. 28:18 For a copy of today's program, 28:20 please contact us at PO Box 1900, 28:24 Thousand Oaks, California 91358, 28:28 or in Australia, contact us at PO Box 861, 28:33 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:38 This program is made possible 28:39 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:42 We thank you for your continued support. 28:45 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2017-04-20