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Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001815A
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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 I am so glad today to give you 00:28 the warmest welcome to the Carter Report. 00:31 This is the fourth part of a terrific series. 00:37 The series is called The Game Changers. 00:42 There are some people who've made a tremendous change 00:45 in the lives of millions and millions of people. 00:48 There are some people who are just a lot of noise 00:51 and, also, they mainly froth and bubble, 00:55 but there are few people in the history of the world 01:00 that have changed the lives positively 01:03 and changed the world for good, millions of people, 01:07 and we call these people the game changers. 01:13 And you can... 01:14 If you write to us, you can get the other three. 01:16 This is number four in the series. 01:19 But this today is about a person 01:23 whom Jesus spoke about and Jesus said, 01:27 of all the people who've lived on planet earth, 01:30 all, hundreds, millions and billions. 01:34 There's no one who is greater than this person 01:38 and we call him today the game changer. 01:41 I want you to take your Bible, 01:42 and we've got Bible today out here in the studio, 01:45 and we're going to turn 01:46 to Matthew 11:11. 01:53 And this is the appraisal of Jesus Christ, 01:57 the greatest person in the history 01:59 of the human race. 02:00 Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, 02:03 among those born of women 02:07 there has not risen one greater 02:10 than John the Baptist." 02:14 One of the great game changers 02:16 we studied few weeks ago was Moses. 02:20 He was the mighty man 02:21 and led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt 02:23 through the Red Sea. 02:25 A person who gave us under the hand of God, 02:27 the Ten Commandments. 02:30 I mean, he is just such a tremendous man 02:33 but Jesus said, 02:35 "Moses was not greater than this man." 02:40 Then of, in one of our previous programs 02:42 we talked about Elijah. 02:43 Elijah was the man 02:45 who brought down fire from God out of heaven, 02:47 quite extraordinary. 02:49 And at the end of his life, 02:50 he was caught up in a fiery chariot 02:53 and taken home to the very throne of God. 02:57 He wasn't greater than this man. 03:01 In our previous program, 03:02 we spoke about the most famous king 03:05 in the world, King David, 03:08 the man who wrote most of the Book of Psalms, 03:11 the father of the Messiah, 03:12 but David in all his excellence, 03:14 in all his glory was not greater 03:18 than John the Baptist. 03:21 And so today, our game changer is John the Baptist. 03:26 I want you to turn in the Bible to Matthew 11, 03:30 and we have a commentary here from Jesus. 03:34 Matthew 11:7. 03:40 Now Jesus here is talking to the disciples about John. 03:46 As they departed, 03:47 Jesus began to say to the multitudes 03:49 concerning John, John the Baptist, 03:52 "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? 03:57 A reed shaken by the wind?" 04:02 And John was out in the wilderness 04:04 preaching his heart out and telling the people 04:06 that the Messiah was going to come. 04:09 And when Jesus was talking about John 04:12 and giving an appraisal of his life, he said, 04:15 "Why did you go out into the wilderness to see?" 04:17 He said, "Did you go out to see a reed." 04:21 You know what a reed does, don't you? 04:23 It goes with the wind. 04:26 It goes this way 04:28 and that way according to the wind. 04:33 John the Baptist was not a politician, 04:37 running for office, 04:39 telling the people anything they wanted to hear. 04:43 John the Baptist 04:44 was not a reed blowing in the wind. 04:48 John the Baptist, the Bible says was an oak. 04:53 Nothing could move him. 04:56 Then if you look at verse 8, the next verse, 04:58 Jesus is talking, 05:00 "But what did you go out to see? 05:03 A man closed in soft garments? 05:05 Indeed those who wear soft clothing 05:09 are in kings' houses." 05:13 Have you heard of the word dandy? 05:17 It's an old English word. 05:20 A dandy was a person who was excessively concerned 05:26 about his appearance and so Jesus said, 05:29 "Did you go out 05:31 into the wilderness to see a dandy." 05:36 There's another word for a dandy that is a fop. 05:40 Have you heard this word? 05:41 You know it now, F-O-P. 05:45 A fop. 05:47 Did you go out to see a fop? 05:52 Some weakling blowing in the wind. 05:56 No, no, no. 05:59 Verse, the next verse says, verse 9, 06:02 "But what did you go out to see? 06:05 A prophet? 06:06 Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet." 06:11 So this man was not only a great preacher, 06:15 not only a great teacher, 06:17 not only a great prophet but Jesus said, 06:20 he was more than a prophet, none greater. 06:24 And most of us have never heard about him, verse 10. 06:27 "For this is he," Jesus says, "of whom it is written: 06:31 Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, 06:35 who will prepare Your way before you." 06:41 So here is a man who is God's messenger. 06:45 He's been given the most important work 06:48 that's ever been given to a human being. 06:51 His work is to prepare the world 06:54 for the coming of the Son of God. 06:57 And Jesus says, "Among those born of women, 07:01 there's not risen one greater than John the Baptist." 07:06 And if you also notice I think verse 14, Jesus says, 07:11 Matthew 11:14, 07:13 "And if you are willing to receive it, 07:15 he is Elijah who is to come." 07:21 Elijah had to confront two very wicked people 07:27 with a bunch of other wicked people, 07:29 who were they? 07:31 It was Ahab and Jezebel 07:35 and all the priests of an apostate religion. 07:39 And he was God's man to take them on. 07:45 And John the Baptist came in the spirit 07:48 and the power of Elijah 07:51 to confront Ahab and Jezebel, 07:56 and the priests 07:58 of an apostate church. 08:02 He was one of the great game changers. 08:05 What we're gonna do. 08:06 We're gonna turn things on its head today. 08:08 We're going to start at the end of his life, 08:12 end of his life is the time of wine, 08:15 women, and song. 08:19 You've all heard, haven't you of Herod the Great? 08:23 He was that indescribable monster 08:28 who was around when Jesus was born, 08:30 and he killed all the little baby boys 08:33 in Bethlehem. 08:36 Well, he had a number of sons, 08:38 and one of his sons was Herod Antipas. 08:43 He was not a real king, he was a little king. 08:47 He was a tetrarch, that means he was given 08:50 a fourth of his father's kingdom, 08:53 and he is a part of the story today, 08:57 Herod Antipas. 08:59 He married Herodias, 09:02 the lawful wife of his brother Phillip. 09:07 Herodias, only just discovered this week. 09:10 Herodias was also his niece. 09:16 And so, not only was he committing adultery, 09:20 but he was involved 09:23 in an incestuous relationship. 09:28 And this is condemned, 09:30 of course, in the Book of Leviticus. 09:33 What was Herod like? 09:35 Herod was a reed blowing in the wind. 09:39 He was a fop, he was a dandy. 09:43 He was a weak man controlled by his lust. 09:47 Herodias 09:50 is like Jezebel, a wicked woman. 09:56 And Herodias had 09:57 what apparently was a beautiful daughter 10:02 whose name is not written down in the scriptures, 10:04 did you know this? 10:07 The name of Herodias 10:09 is not recorded in the scriptures. 10:12 We know her name from extra biblical sources. 10:17 Her name was Salome. 10:23 Extra sources but you won't read about it 10:26 in the Bible. 10:28 What happened reveals John's character. 10:32 Herod enjoyed John's preaching. 10:36 And John could preach up a storm. 10:40 He was an impassioned preacher. 10:45 There was a saying in secular Australia 10:47 when I grew up that there were three sexes, 10:51 men, women, and clergyman. 10:56 A clergyman was a dandy 10:58 or a fop. 11:03 But John was a man's man, and he knew he was a man. 11:09 It's a dangerous thing to listen to God's preacher 11:11 unless you are prepared to obey God's Word. 11:14 John said, "You do not have the right to this woman, 11:19 she belongs to Phillip." 11:22 Now, after you've listened to a prophet or a man of God, 11:26 my friends, you are either much better off 11:30 or else you are much worse off. 11:34 You will not be the same. 11:37 Because if you expose yourself 11:40 to the preaching of a man of God, 11:43 and he's filled with the Holy Spirit, 11:46 either you are going to obey 11:48 or else you're going to harden your heart, 11:52 and commit the unpardonable sin. 11:56 And what happened to Herod, he hardened his heart. 11:59 When I was a boy preacher, I learned the poem or the hymn. 12:04 There's a line that is crossed 12:07 By rejecting the Lord 12:11 Where the call of the Spirit is lost 12:15 As you travel along amid the pleasure-mad throng 12:19 Have you counted, have you counted the cost? 12:21 Have you counted the cost if your soul should be lost? 12:27 And so, there is a line drawn in the sand 12:30 and if you cross over it, you cannot go back. 12:36 Herod crossed over it. 12:39 John was an old fashioned preacher 12:41 of old fashioned virtues and values. 12:44 He believed in what we would call today, 12:47 traditional family values. 12:52 He believed in marriage 12:53 that was between one man and one woman. 12:59 You cannot believe scripture and not believe in that. 13:03 He believed adultery was wrong, 13:06 one man, one woman, 13:09 what would he say today. 13:11 I was watching CNN when the Supreme Court said, 13:15 "It was lawful and good for a man to have sex 13:20 with a man and a woman to have sex with a woman," 13:24 same sex marriage. 13:29 And, of course, there was tremendous pressure 13:32 placed upon everybody 13:33 to give up his Christian beliefs 13:36 and go with the crowd, 13:38 because the president of the United States 13:40 was leading the charge. 13:44 But he only did so, of course, 13:45 when he was sure that he was in the majority. 13:53 This same sex marriage that was celebrated 13:55 and applauded by the president of the United States, 14:00 who was influenced 14:01 by the liberals of Hollywood turned 14:04 the world upside down, 14:07 it was America's darkest day. 14:11 Now, here is a magazine 14:13 that every person ought to get, Liberty magazine. 14:16 And I'm going to quote you from Liberty magazine. 14:21 And this is when the Supreme Court did this act. 14:23 "When the U.S. Supreme Court voted 14:27 to legalize gay marriage, 14:29 many thought this was one of the most significant 14:32 and lawless rulings 14:35 in U.S. history, 14:36 since it was not a constitutional issue 14:39 and changed the social order." 14:43 And I can tell you, 14:45 John the Baptist would have sundered against it. 14:50 I listened to an interview by the English interviewer, 14:55 Piers Morgan, who professed to be a Christian. 15:00 He interviewed that great pastor Rick Warren. 15:05 He said, "Pastor Warren, we respect you. 15:10 Can you not give in a little bit?" 15:14 Rick Warren said, 15:15 "I love every person, 15:17 I love lesbians, I love gays, I love every person." 15:21 But he said, "The Bible teaches 15:23 that marriage is between one man and one woman 15:27 and then Piers Morgan showed his hand, 15:31 he said, "Isn't it time for you to change the Bible?" 15:40 Rick Warren said, "We can't change the Bible, 15:43 our conscience is bound by the Word of God." 15:46 He said, "Well, it is time to update the Bible 15:50 and get rid of these embarrassing texts." 15:55 Rick Warren said, "Never, never, never, never." 16:00 I have seen, listen, 16:03 I have seen Christians ridiculed on TV, 16:07 because they believe that marriage is between 16:10 a man and a woman, 16:12 and I've heard hate speech directed against them, 16:16 they've been called terrible names 16:18 because they believe in the teachings of Christ. 16:23 I have asked this question, 16:24 will the time come here in the United States of America 16:29 when Christians will be ridiculed 16:31 because they are against pedophilia. 16:36 And because they are against polygamy, 16:40 will that day also come. 16:43 Now, did you know 16:45 that in France, in France, 16:50 the great liberals of that great nation 16:54 had been marching 16:55 in the streets of Paris 17:01 demanding pedophilia rights. 17:07 The rights to enjoy... 17:13 This is in France, 17:14 and I would ask the question logically, 17:17 if there is no God 17:19 and if there are no Ten Commandments, 17:23 then why not? 17:26 Then why not? 17:28 Don't come and say to me because it's against society, 17:33 society has been changing tremendously, 17:38 but today we stand 17:42 on the Word of God. 17:44 So I am watching the liberal media here 17:48 in the United States of America 17:50 which is polluting the world. 17:54 And they have found some pastors 17:56 who are applauding same sex marriage. 18:00 And the people on CNN are applauding and laughing. 18:05 Let me tell you, folk, something, 18:08 we stand on the Word of God. 18:11 And today, I would press upon you the question, 18:15 what would John the Baptist say today, 18:18 if he were on CNN? 18:22 What would he say to Herodias? 18:26 He was great in the sight of the Lord 18:28 because of his courage and his convictions. 18:31 Remember this, he was not a dandy 18:33 and he was not a fop. 18:37 He was not a reed. Now back to Herod and Herodias. 18:40 Herodias was like Jezebel, crafty, scheming, treacherous, 18:45 immoral, pardon my saying it, 18:48 she was a bad woman. 18:53 And she hated John, why? 18:55 Because John taught the truth. 18:58 And if you teach the truth, 19:00 bad people are going to hate you. 19:04 Remember the saying, 19:06 "A man is known by his friends 19:08 and also his enemies." 19:12 And John had some enemies and they were bad people. 19:17 Salome dances. 19:19 She is young, beautiful, 19:22 and seductive. 19:25 The king is taken in and his passions are aroused. 19:34 Remember the words of King Saul, 19:36 I had played the fool and erred exceedingly. 19:41 True of Herod. 19:44 And the king, of course, 19:46 it's his birthday and the king is drunk, blind drunk, 19:51 and the king does something 19:52 that he would never do under normal circumstances. 19:57 Says to this young woman, 20:02 "What do you want, I'll give you anything 20:04 you want to, half of my kingdom." 20:08 And so, the girl Salome, 20:10 she runs off to mummy and she says to mummy. 20:15 What shall I ask of your 20:19 "husband?" 20:26 And she says to Salome, 20:28 "Bring me the head of John the Baptist on a platter, 20:32 on a plate." 20:35 So the king tries to get out of it 20:36 because conscience is aroused. 20:39 He's dealing with one of the greatest men 20:40 in the history of the world, 20:42 and this fabricate woman 20:46 wants to murder him. 20:49 But nobody there will let the king off the hook. 20:53 He waits and he waits but all the ladies 20:56 and all the lords are dumb and numb 21:01 because the wine is in. 21:06 And so, some soldiers are sent to the prison, 21:09 John hears 21:12 the beat of feet. 21:16 Matthew 14:8-11, 21:21 "So she having been prompted 21:24 by her mother said, 21:26 'Give me John the Baptist's head here 21:29 on a platter.'" 21:32 Her day is coming. 21:34 "The king was sorry, nevertheless, 21:38 because of his oaths and because of those 21:40 who sat with him, 21:41 he commanded it to be given to her. 21:44 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 21:48 And his head was brought on a platter 21:49 and given to the girl, 21:53 and she brought it to her mother." 21:56 But I will say again, her day. 22:01 is coming. 22:05 John died for his faith. 22:08 John had convictions, not a dandy, not a wimp, 22:12 not a fop, not a reed. 22:16 A man sent from God. 22:19 He died for his moral convictions 22:22 around the sanctity, about the sanctity of marriage. 22:25 That is why I believe 22:26 we need to stand up for these things. 22:28 He was a young man, not an old man, 22:31 he was in his early 30s we believe. 22:36 Now we need to go back to the beginning. 22:40 And we come to Luke 1:5. 22:44 This is the beginning. 22:46 "There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, 22:49 Herod the Great, 22:51 a certain priest name Zacharias, 22:53 of the division of Abijah. 22:56 His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, 22:58 and her name was Elizabeth." 23:00 And they were very, very old. 23:04 And even though they had wanted a son, 23:08 this had been denied to them. 23:11 Zacharias is a priest. 23:14 Every now and then, 23:15 he goes into the temple to minister. 23:18 And one day he's ministering and an angel appears, 23:23 the angel has a message. 23:25 Look at verse 11 and 12. 23:28 Luke 1:11 and 12, 23:30 "Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, 23:32 standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 23:36 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, 23:40 and fear came upon him." 23:42 So the angel comes 23:44 and the angel comes with a message. 23:48 And we'll notice the next verse, verse 13, 23:53 "But the angel said to him, 'Do not be afraid, Zacharias, 23:56 for your prayer is heard, 23:57 and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, 24:01 and you shall call his name John." 24:05 Zacharias said, no. 24:08 When I have a son, 24:10 his name's going to be called Zacharias. 24:14 The angel said, John, 24:16 and because you haven't believed this, 24:19 you are going to be dumb and unable to speak, 24:23 but this boy is going to be extraordinary. 24:28 Luke 1:15, Luke 1:15, 24:32 "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, 24:35 and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. 24:38 He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, 24:42 even from his mother's womb." 24:44 God said through Gabriel, 24:46 he's going to do the greatest work 24:49 ever committed to the sons of men, 24:51 and because he's got 24:53 this tremendously important work to do, 24:57 he's not going to touch wine 25:00 or strong drink. 25:04 Goodness. 25:07 I quote the Centers for Disease 25:11 Control and Prevention, 25:14 "Excessive alcohol use led 25:17 to approximately 88, 000 deaths 25:22 and 2.5 million years of potential life lost 25:28 each, every year in the United States." 25:35 I think of the people, am I getting close to you, 25:39 I hope so. 25:43 Do you sometimes wonder why the people 25:45 and why they never seem to be able to get it right. 25:50 When you hear of the terrible fatalities 25:53 of people being killed. 25:55 Just down the road from us, 25:57 five young people got into a Mercedes, father's car, 26:00 drove out, all got killed old, all drunk. 26:03 I think of rape and murder, 26:07 and broken homes and broken hearts. 26:14 Years ago I heard Dr. Shaffenberg tell the story. 26:19 Visiting a boy in a death row. 26:23 Boy was going to be put to death. 26:26 He said, "What did you do boy?" 26:28 He said, "I killed my mother, killed my mother." 26:31 Tell me about it. 26:32 He said, "I came home late at night, 26:34 I loved my mother." 26:37 She came out 26:38 and she started to nag me, "Where have you been? 26:43 What have you been doing?" 26:46 He said, "I was blind with alcohol." 26:48 He said, "I went and got 26:51 a knife out of the kitchen drawer 26:54 and I stabbed my mother to death." 26:59 Weeping, weeping. 27:02 Dr. Shaffenberg said, "Boy, this is a terrible story. 27:06 You didn't know what you were doing?" 27:07 "No, I didn't know what I was doing. 27:09 Now I'm going to die, I murdered my mother." 27:13 And then Shaffenberg asked the question. 27:17 He said, "This may help somebody else one day. 27:21 Who gave you your first drink?" 27:26 He said, "My mother gave me my first drink." 27:34 Didn't know what he is doing. 27:38 Now God was calling this man, John, to do a special purpose. 27:42 English had a saying, 27:43 "When the wine is in the wit is out." 27:49 He wanted this young man to have a clear mind 27:53 because he was the herald 27:56 of the coming of the Messiah. 28:00 The best is still to come. 28:03 We'll be back after this break. Stay with us. 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, 28:34 contact us at P.O. Box 861, 28:37 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:42 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 2018-06-18