Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001812A
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00:01 Welcome to a new Carter Report Series,
00:03 The Game Changers. 00:05 These rare individuals appear once in a lifetime 00:09 like a blazing meteor across the night sky, 00:12 they change the course of history, 00:15 they show us the way forward. 00:18 Welcome to The Game Changers. 00:26 Welcome back. 00:28 A special welcome to our viewers 00:30 on Fox in Washington, D.C. 00:33 and to our great audience around the world. 00:36 Today, we're talking about the game changers 00:40 and the hero of the story today is the Prophet Elijah. 00:46 In the last segment we were talking about 00:48 the times and the prevailing sentiment. 00:51 We're talking about Ahab the king of Israel. 00:55 We were talking about what he did, 00:56 Baal worship and all of those things. 00:58 Now we're going to talk just a bit about Jezebel, 01:02 the wife of Ahab the weak king of Israel. 01:08 Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, 01:10 the king of the pagans Sidonians. 01:13 She was cunning, scheming, unscrupulous, 01:17 immoral, good-looking, vicious, cruel, and without conscience. 01:24 She wore the pants and dominated Ahab. 01:29 He was a weak man and she was a strong woman, 01:33 no scruples at all. 01:35 What about Baal? Who was Baal? 01:38 Baal was the god of fertility, he was the sex god. 01:43 The god of storms, thunder and lightning. 01:46 His worship was full of sexual depravity, 01:49 there were no rules. 01:51 And a part of this worship was the sacrifice of children, 01:56 you believe it. 01:58 So they engaged in every sexual perversion 02:01 and they murdered babies. 02:03 Now, I want to give you some texts out of the Bible 02:07 that gives you an insight 02:10 into the times of the great prophet, Elijah. 02:15 Come with me over now to 2 Kings 23:5 and 6. 02:20 This gives you the context, 2 Kings 23:5 and 6, 02:27 "Then he removed the idolatrous priests 02:30 whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense 02:34 on the high places in the cities of Judah 02:37 and in the places all around Jerusalem, 02:40 and those he burned and those who burned incense to Baal, 02:46 to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, 02:50 and to all the host of heaven." 02:52 They were worshippers of the sun, the moon, the stars, 02:57 they worship also Asherah, the six. 03:00 "So he brought out the wooden image 03:02 from the house of the Lord, 03:03 to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, 03:07 burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, 03:11 and threw its ashes 03:12 on the graves of the common people." 03:15 And it talks about the wooden image, 03:17 this is a great wooden sex god. 03:21 Verse 7, "Then he tore down 03:24 the ritual booths of the perverted persons..." 03:29 Read this in the margin. 03:33 "The perverted persons it says the sodomites 03:39 that were in the house of the Lord, 03:41 where the women wove hanging for the wooden altars." 03:46 Let me see now, 03:47 I think we'll go to 23:10 and 11, 03:52 "And he defiled Topheth, 03:54 which is in the Valley of the son of Hinnom, 03:56 that no man might make his son or his daughter 03:59 pass through the fire to Molech," human sacrifices. 04:04 Verse 11, "Then he removed the horses 04:06 that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, 04:10 at the entrance to the house of the Lord, 04:12 by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, 04:15 the officer who was in the court, 04:17 and he burned the chariots of the fire. 04:21 Chariots of the sun with fire." 04:26 So here you have uttered depravity, 04:30 it talks about the blood of the innocents. 04:33 If you come over now to Jeremiah, 04:35 come over a fair way, 04:36 Jeremiah 19:4 and 5, 04:43 dear hearts and gentle people, 04:45 Jeremiah 19:4 and 5, 04:48 "Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, 04:52 because they burn incense in it to other gods 04:56 whom neither they, their fathers, 04:58 nor the kings of Judah have known 05:00 and they have filled this place," notice it, 05:03 "the blood of innocents, with the blood of innocents. 05:07 They have also built the high places of Baal, 05:10 to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, 05:14 which I did not command or speak, 05:17 nor did it come into My mind." 05:18 They were so depraved, 05:20 they thought they were doing the will of God. 05:26 This shows you how bad religion can get, 05:32 just because it's religion doesn't make it right. 05:37 This was the religion of the devil. 05:41 And then if you come now 05:42 to 2 Chronicles 33:6. 05:48 2 Chronicles 33:6, 05:54 and notice these words. 05:57 2 Chronicles 33:6, 06:02 "Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire 06:06 in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, 06:08 he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, 06:14 and consulted mediums and spiritists. 06:18 He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, 06:21 to provoke Him to anger." 06:24 Notice the state of the nation, I pray you. 06:29 Notice the state of the church. 06:33 The state of the church in the days of Elijah, 06:37 soothsaying, witchcraft, sorcery, 06:43 mediums, spiritists, perverted sex. 06:48 The Bible says the word 06:51 in the original is sodomy, sins of Sodom. 06:56 Orgies, religious prostitution, the killing of babies, 07:03 the rejection of God's commandments. 07:08 Does it sound familiar? 07:13 So God raised up a man, 07:16 and that man came and stood before the king, and he said, 07:21 "God has had enough of you and your filthy ways." 07:28 He said, "Judgment is coming." 07:33 Of course, we would never in this land of freedom, 07:38 and religion, and piety 07:41 practice these abominations, would we? 07:46 Notice the religion of Baal today. 07:53 Hollywood violence, cruelty, pornography, 08:00 millions and millions, and millions, 08:02 tens of millions 08:04 up to their eyeballs in filth, pedophilia. 08:10 Pornography, the glorification of lawlessness. 08:17 A cult, Satan loves violence and that loves bloodshed, 08:22 glorifies bloodshed. 08:24 Orgies, perverted sex, drunkenness, 08:29 the hatred of God, 08:30 and the hatred of Christ, spiritism. 08:34 I may add hate speech. 08:37 Anybody who disagrees 08:41 is criticized and vilified. 08:46 And 60 million babies killed. 08:50 Sixty million babies killed in recent times, 08:56 in the United States of America. 08:59 I would suggest to you 09:00 and this is the most unpopular thing 09:04 that a preacher could ever say, 09:06 this religion is the religion of Baal. 09:13 The modern religion of Baal. 09:15 And do we think that God is a benevolent old fogy, 09:21 a benevolent old grandfather or a Santa Claus. 09:29 Now God's man back there 09:31 was accused of being the problem maker, 09:32 would you notice 1 Kings 18:16 and 17. 09:39 "So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him, 09:42 and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 09:45 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, 09:47 that Ahab said to him, 09:49 'Is that you, O troubler of Israel.'" 09:52 You are the cause of all of this trouble. 09:55 You are to blame. 09:56 In our society today, 09:58 we condemn the innocent and we praise the guilty. 10:03 People who turn from God believe that good is evil 10:09 and evil is good. 10:12 And look at verse 18, "But he answered and said, 10:15 'I have not troubled Israel, 10:16 but you and your father's house, 10:19 in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord 10:23 and have followed the Baals.'" 10:24 The great problem is, he says, "You've got away from Christ. 10:28 You've got away from the Word of God. 10:30 You've got away from the Ten Commandments, 10:33 and you are following 10:34 a counterfeit religious system." 10:38 Verse 19, I think is the next verse. 10:44 Verse 19, "Now therefore, 10:48 send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, 10:51 the four hundred and fifty prophets of the Baal 10:54 and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, 10:56 who eat at Jezebel's table." 10:58 The preachers who were paid 11:03 to preach lies. 11:07 And here you've got one man 11:09 against 850 demon possessed prophets of Baal. 11:13 Error is on the throne, truth is on the scaffold, 11:17 never believe the devil's lie 11:21 that truth is on the side of the majority. 11:26 It is never been true in history. 11:31 Even though there are preachers and there are teachers 11:35 who are paid to tell you lies. 11:39 Verse 20 and 21, 11:42 "So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, 11:45 gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 11:48 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, 11:50 'How long will you falter.'" 11:52 Hebrew word there is dance. 11:55 How long will you dance, or swagger, 11:57 or stagger between opinions. 11:59 "If the Lord is God, follow Him, 12:01 but if Baal, follow him. 12:03 But the people answered him not a word." 12:05 He said, "The time has come for you to turn from this 12:07 and to come to Christ." 12:10 Then you notice verse 22, 23, 12:13 "And Elijah said to the people, 12:14 'I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, 12:17 but Baal's prophets are four hundred fifty men. 12:20 Therefore let them give us two bulls, 12:22 and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut in pieces, 12:25 and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it, 12:28 and I will prepare the other bull, 12:30 and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it.'" 12:32 So he says, "You go ahead, you are the biggest number, 12:35 you go ahead." 12:37 And then verse 24 and 25 in the Word of God, 12:39 "Then you call on the name of your gods, 12:41 and I will call on the name of the Lord, 12:44 and the God who answers by fire, He is God.' 12:48 So all the people answered and said 'It is well spoken.' 12:54 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, 12:55 'Choose one bull for yourself and prepare it first, 12:58 for you are many, and call on the name of god, 13:02 but don't put any fire under it.'" 13:05 So, "Hey, get up, bullock, put it on the altar." 13:12 And then the shenanigan start. 13:15 Verse 26 and 27, 13:17 "So they took the bull which was given them, 13:19 and they prepared it, 13:21 and called on the name of Baal 13:23 from morning even until noon, saying, 13:26 'O, Baal, hear us!'" 13:28 How can a dead God hear you. 13:31 "But there was no voice, no one answered. 13:34 Then they leaped about the altar..." 13:39 I've seen some pretty demeans, 13:41 people do a lot of leaping, lot of jumping. 13:46 But not a lot of obedience to God. 13:50 Anybody can leap, a monkey can leap, 13:54 a grasshopper can leap. 13:55 Verse 27, "And so it was, at noon, 13:59 that Elijah mocked them and said, 14:00 'Cry aloud for he is a god, either he is meditating, 14:03 or he is busy, or he is on a journey, 14:07 or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.'" 14:15 Now let me, folks, tell you something, 14:16 a little chuckle and humor are never out of place. 14:21 I won't tell you exactly what the Hebrews says here. 14:24 But it was a little stronger than this, he said, 14:26 "Well, Baal is doing this, he may be... 14:31 A little chuckle and humor are never out of place 14:33 even when in the presence of your enemies. 14:35 A merry heart does good like a medicine. 14:39 And Elijah was a prophet of God, 14:41 but Elijah knew how to laugh. 14:43 And then if you look at 1 Kings 18... 14:48 Let me see 28 and 29. 14:49 "So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, 14:51 as was their custom, with knives and lances, 14:54 until the blood gushed out on them." 14:56 Big religious thing this. 14:58 "And when midday was past, they prophesied 15:00 until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice..." 15:03 That's three in the afternoon. 15:04 "But there was no voice, 15:07 no one answered, no one paid attention." 15:11 Listen to me. 15:13 If you follow the wrong god, my friend, 15:19 they'll be nobody to answer your prayers. 15:24 And when the chips are down, 15:27 and when people have jumped around, 15:30 and when they've gone 15:32 through all the religious rigmarole. 15:36 When the chips are down, the false gods are silent. 15:42 And that's why we say to you, believe in Jesus, 15:47 follow Jesus, follow Jesus, follow Jesus, 15:51 keep His commandments. 15:53 Verse 30 and 30... Let me see. 15:57 We're down to verse 30 I think, is that right? 16:00 We're doing okay. 16:02 You're doing even better than me. 16:03 "Then Elijah said to all the people, 16:05 'Come here to me.'" 16:06 All the people came near to him. 16:08 "And he repaired the altar of the Lord 16:11 that was broken down." 16:13 That's what you and I need to do. 16:16 We need to repair the altar of the Lord. 16:19 We need to come back to God. 16:21 We need to set up the altar to the true God. 16:26 This is talking about a religious reformation. 16:30 And then, if you come to verse 31. 16:35 "And Elijah took twelve stones 16:37 according to the number 16:38 of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, 16:41 to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, 16:43 'Israel shall be your name.'" 16:46 So he repairs the altar, 16:49 then he puts the bullock on the altar, 16:53 and he does something else 16:55 because those evil priests are watching his every move. 17:02 He says, "Get me some water." 17:05 And they bring hundreds of gallons of water. 17:08 And they pour the water over the burnt offering. 17:12 And then he says, "Do it again." 17:15 And they do it again. 17:16 He says, "Do it the third time." 17:19 And so, they get lots and lots of water. 17:23 And then verse 38. 17:29 Notice what happens. 17:30 This is a prayer to God. 17:31 He says, "God, hear me God. I can't do any more." 17:37 Verse 38, "Then the fire of the Lord fell 17:43 and consumed the burnt sacrifice, 17:46 and the wood and the stones and the dust, 17:50 and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 17:54 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, 17:58 and they said, 'The Lord, He is God! 18:03 The Lord, He is God!'" 18:06 What they said that day was, we just made a mess of things. 18:11 And Elijah said to them, 18:13 "It's time for you to come back to God. 18:18 No more Baal worship. 18:21 We will serve the Lord. 18:23 We will keep His commandments. 18:25 We will turn from false religion. 18:28 We will turn from sexual immorality. 18:32 We will turn from breaking His commandments. 18:35 And we will come to Christ." 18:40 And that message of Elijah, 18:44 I suggest to you today is pertinent. 18:52 These people lived under an Old Testament theocracy 18:55 where judgment was immediate. 18:59 All those priests, 850 of them were put to death. 19:04 God cut out the cancer. 19:08 Eight hundred and fifty priests. 19:11 In the New Testament, 19:12 we don't have a theocracy and judgment is delayed. 19:17 It's delayed to the end, 19:19 but it is just a certain, there is a judgment day. 19:24 God is now giving us opportunity to repent. 19:34 It is true that the God, mills of God grind slowly, 19:40 my friend, they grind just the same. 19:44 Now please notice 19:46 1 Kings 18:41. 19:52 So the fire has come. 19:55 Evildoers have been put to death. 19:57 "Then Elijah said to Ahab, 'Get up, eat and drink, 20:01 for there is the sound of abundance of rain.'" 20:06 It's amazing story. 20:07 The people had repented and come back to God. 20:10 God is gracious, God is merciful. 20:13 And Elijah says, "I know it's coming. 20:16 I hear the sound of abundance of rain." 20:19 This is a message I want you to take from this meeting today. 20:23 If we come to God, if we turn from our sins, 20:28 if we turn from idolatry, the message of God is this, 20:32 there is the sound of abundance of rain. 20:36 God says, "I'm going to bless you." 20:39 And then Ahab does something amazing. 20:42 He's going to drive his chariot 20:44 with his horses about 20 miles to the palace. 20:48 But before he starts out, Ahab comes and says, 20:52 "I will show you the way." 20:55 The King can't see through the blinding rain 20:57 and this man runs with the power of God 21:02 for 20 miles in front of horses. 21:04 Horses can't keep up with him. 21:07 You know why? 21:10 Because he had the wind of God under his wings, you see. 21:17 You can do impossible things if you have God in your life. 21:22 Jesus said, "With God nothing shall be impossible." 21:25 I tell you, my friend, it is the truth. 21:30 Then if you read on in the scriptures, 21:31 there is the great let down. 21:33 If you stand on the mountain, you will descend to the valley, 21:35 he was totally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. 21:39 Jezebel hears about it and she says, 21:41 "You are a dead man. 21:43 You're a dead man." 21:45 And Elijah runs for the fear of his life 21:50 because the best men are still men. 21:53 We are only animated mud on the way to dust. 21:57 He runs, and he runs, and he falls asleep, 22:00 and somebody wakes him up, he thinks is an enemy. 22:04 The person says, 22:06 "The journey is too hard for you, 22:07 have something to eat." 22:10 Our God doesn't rebuke him for running away. 22:14 God lifts him up, God gives him a meal. 22:15 He doesn't give him a sermon, He gives him something to eat. 22:20 Often people do not need a sermon, 22:22 they need something to eat. 22:27 And then in the strength of that meal, 22:30 he goes on, it's okay to get down, my friends, 22:33 it's not okay to stand down or stay down. 22:36 Elijah walks and runs for 40 days. 22:39 He comes to Mount Sinai. 22:41 And you read about this in 1 Kings 19:9 and 10. 22:46 At Sinai many miles away, 22:47 "And there he went into a cave, 22:49 and spent the night in that place, 22:51 and behold the word of the Lord came to him, 22:53 and he said to him, 22:54 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' 22:55 So he said, 'I have been very zealous 22:57 for the Lord God of hosts, 22:59 for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, 23:01 torn down Your altars, 23:03 and killed Your prophets with the sword. 23:04 I alone am left and they seek to take my life.'" 23:09 And then he says, "Elijah, I want you to go outside, 23:12 stand on the mountain." 23:15 There comes a tremendous wind. 23:19 And then there comes a tremendous fire. 23:24 A tremendous earthquake. 23:27 God is not in any of those things. 23:30 And then there is... 23:31 You know what it says, "A still small voice." 23:36 God is in the still small voice. 23:40 The Almighty God says, 23:42 "Elijah, I'm not finished with you, 23:45 go back, I've got some work for you to do." 23:49 And so he goes back. 23:53 God has appointed him to do some last duties. 23:57 Eventually, Ahab and Jezebel die violent deaths. 24:00 Ahab bleeds to death with the wound of an arrow. 24:04 Jezebel is thrown out of a window 24:07 and trampled by the horses. 24:09 Good people will have a good end, 24:11 bad people have a bad end. 24:13 The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small. 24:17 God is just and justice cannot sleep for ever. 24:21 And Elijah also comes to an end. 24:25 You read about it in 2 Kings 2:11. 24:30 Look at it please, 2 Kings 2:11, 24:35 "Then it happened, 24:37 as they continued on and talked, 24:39 that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, 24:45 and separated the two of them, 24:48 and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 24:54 Isn't it amazing? 24:57 Elijah unlike Moses never died. 25:03 It's amazing. 25:05 After all the things 25:06 he'd gone through, his frailties, his weaknesses, 25:10 he was a man saved by the grace of God. 25:13 And at last, God sent down from glory. 25:16 Can you imagine it? 25:19 A bunch of fiery horses pulling a fiery chariot 25:23 and Elijah went up in a whirlwind to glory. 25:33 When Jesus comes, God's people are going to be caught up. 25:37 Now listen to me, 25:40 God is looking for people who will stand for the truth, 25:44 who will stand out against iniquity. 25:48 They are the game changers. 25:51 They are the people who change the world. 25:54 And therefore, my message to you is this, 25:58 believe today 26:02 in the God of Elijah, 26:06 in Jesus' name, amen. 26:11 Amen. 26:19 Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me 26:22 in heaven and on earth." 26:24 Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. 26:29 Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 26:33 and of the Holy Spirit. 26:37 John Carter reports, 26:38 we have seen God's power as the gospel of Christ 26:42 has been proclaimed in Africa, 26:45 India, Russia, 26:50 Ukraine, 26:53 Cuba, 26:56 El Salvador and many other places. 27:00 We invite you to partner with us 27:03 in proclaiming Jesus Christ. 27:09 To God be the glory. 27:12 Great things He has done. 27:16 Write today to the Carter Report, 27:20 P.O. Box 1900 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 27:27 That's the Carter Report, 27:29 P.O. Box 1900 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 27:36 In Australia, write to the Carter Report 27:40 P.O. Box 861, Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 27:47 That's the Carter Report, 27:49 P.O. Box 861, Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 27:56 Thank you for your generous support. 27:58 We look forward to hearing from you soon. 28:01 May God richly bless you. 28:20 For a copy of today's program, please contact us at 28:24 P.O. Box 1900 Thousand Oaks, California 91358, 28:30 or in Australia contact us at 28:33 P.O. Box 861, Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:39 This program is made possible 28:41 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:44 We thank you for your continued support. 28:47 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2018-05-23