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Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001817A
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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 We're really glad to see you today. 00:28 We welcome, especially our viewers 00:30 on Fox in Washington, D.C. 00:33 and all our viewers around the world. 00:35 We've been doing a series 00:37 which is called The Game Changers. 00:41 And the game changers are those extraordinary people 00:47 who've changed the history of the world 00:49 and our lives not for bad but for good. 00:54 I think this is number five. 00:57 Last week, I spoke about one of the great game changers. 01:00 Jesus said there was no person in the history of the world 01:03 who was greater than John the Baptist, 01:07 who overthrew kingdoms through his speaking. 01:10 But today, the game changer 01:13 is the greatest game changer of them all, 01:19 the greatest game changer of them all. 01:24 Years ago, 01:26 after communism fell, 01:28 I was in the great city of Kiev 01:31 which is one of the great cities of Europe. 01:34 We'd run a tremendous campaign in the city of Kiev, 01:37 and we had seen hundreds of thousands of people 01:40 come to a knowledge of God. 01:41 We're talking about communists, and atheists, 01:44 and ranked unbelievers. 01:46 And a few months after that great series, 01:48 I went back to the capital of Ukraine, the city of Kiev. 01:52 And we had had this vast 01:54 and this magnificent auditorium. 01:58 It was ornate. It was a masterpiece. 02:01 I had the privilege of addressing a vast crowd 02:05 of people who'd been born and bred 02:09 in communism and atheism. 02:11 I stood on the very spot 02:14 where Khrushchev had delivered his famous oration. 02:19 Khrushchev had predicted that the day was coming very soon 02:24 when the name of Christ would be unknown 02:28 in the Soviet Union 02:31 and Christianity would be blotted from the earth. 02:34 I stood at the very spot 02:38 where Khrushchev made this deliberate pronouncement, 02:42 and I told the people this, 02:44 "Well, it just so happens, folks," 02:46 I told, "That Khrushchev is dead 02:51 and communism is dead but Jesus is Christ is alive, 02:57 and the church goes on and on forever." 03:02 That's because the world can't get rid of Him. 03:06 The biggest game changer 03:08 in the history of the world is Jesus. 03:14 A carpenter who came from a little town 03:16 by the name of Nazareth, He is greater than Moses. 03:22 Moses, the person who led the children of Israel 03:25 out of the land of Egypt, He's greater than Moses, 03:28 He's greater than Elijah. 03:29 Elijah was caught up to God in a flaming chariot. 03:33 He's greater than Elijah. 03:34 He's greater than David. 03:36 We talked about David in one of our Game Changer programs. 03:40 He's greater than John the Baptist of whom Jesus said, 03:43 "There was no person greater than John the Baptist." 03:46 He is greater than Paul, the great Jewish theologian 03:52 of the first century who transformed Western thinking. 03:58 There would be no United States of America, 04:00 no modern democracies without Paul the Jew, 04:05 greater than Paul, greater than one of my heroes, 04:08 Winston Churchill. 04:10 Winston Churchill who said, 04:12 "We will fight on the beaches, on the landing fields, 04:16 we will never surrender." 04:19 Greater than Churchill 04:20 who saved the world from the Nazis, 04:23 greater than Einstein who gave us relativity, 04:28 greater than Abraham Lincoln who emancipated the slaves 04:32 in North America, 04:33 greater than another one of my heroes Martin Luther 04:39 who gave us the freedom to think for ourselves, 04:45 greater than any world leader or politician 04:50 or president living today 04:54 or who has ever lived. 04:57 He is the greatest game changer. 05:00 And the question is this, 05:01 what's so amazing about Jesus? 05:06 In 1992, I went to the city of Gorki, a closed city. 05:12 I think I was the first foreigner to go there. 05:15 I went to this place that is on the screen, 05:18 the Palace of Sport, wanted to hire it, 05:22 spoke to the old communist official 05:26 beneath a banner of Lenin. 05:28 He said these words to me, listen, he said, 05:31 "No one will come to these meetings about Christ 05:35 because here we've taught the people 05:39 no longer even to think of Him." 05:42 He said, "In this part of the world, 05:45 we do not think of God anymore." 05:49 When we came back in May and started the meetings, 05:53 the crowds were so vast that this old communist 05:57 was almost trampled to death 06:01 because of Christ. 06:04 You can't get rid of Jesus 06:07 because He is the biggest game changer 06:10 in the history of the world, and He is still alive. 06:15 In 1917, the atheists took over. 06:21 The people say, 06:22 "I wonder what it would be like in America 06:25 if the atheists took over." 06:28 We go to Russia, 1917, 06:31 mass murders, 06:34 bloodshed, 06:36 the communists employed 06:38 demagogues to go around the country, 06:41 and let you to the peasants, 06:42 and tell them why God was dead. 06:46 And after lecturing for 60 minutes 06:49 to a vast crowd of peasants, 06:52 the communist demagogue turned to a little Christian pastor 06:57 and he said, "There you've heard me. 06:59 I will give you five minutes to answer." 07:02 The pastor said, "Sir, I don't need five minutes. 07:05 I need five seconds." 07:09 And he walked to the front of the stage, 07:12 and he gave the traditional Russian Easter greeting. 07:17 Do you know what? 07:18 He cried out, "The Lord is risen." 07:24 The Russians shouted back, "He is risen indeed." 07:28 You see? 07:30 And that is why the communists 07:33 and the atheists could not get rid of Him. 07:38 I want you to notice the amazing claims 07:41 that Christ made about Himself, 07:48 the claims He made about Himself. 07:50 John 17:4, 5, 07:54 and the people in the studio you will have Bibles, 07:57 it'll be good if you turn 07:58 to John 17:5, 08:04 verses 4, 5. 08:06 John 17:4, 5 Jesus says, 08:09 "I've glorified you on the earth. 08:12 I have finished the work that you've given me to do. 08:16 And now, O Father, glorify Me together 08:19 with Yourself, with the glory which I had with you 08:23 before the world began." 08:28 Apparently, preposterous. 08:31 The Greek word for world there is cosmos. 08:36 It may mean this earth, it may mean the universe. 08:43 If it means the universe, 08:45 it means the Christ was making the staggering claim 08:50 that He existed with another person 08:53 who is called the Father 08:56 before the cosmos existed. 08:59 We are not talking about planet earth, you understand, 09:03 but every astronomer, every scientist understands 09:09 from astronomical observation and data that the universe 09:15 was born in an event which they call the Big Bang, 09:20 and we know how long ago it was. 09:23 It happened 13.8 billion years ago. 09:27 People say, "No, that's all speculation." 09:29 No, it's not speculation, it's a fact. 09:32 Jesus Christ is saying that before the cosmos was born 09:37 in unlimited energy and power, 09:41 billions of years ago, 09:43 Jesus was there. 09:45 He was there with His Father. 09:48 Now we need to have an appeal to logic 09:51 'cause logic still exists in the minds of those 09:55 who still have minds. 09:59 Jesus was either a good man and everybody says He was 10:03 or else He was a madman 10:05 and few people have ever said that. 10:08 Or else He was the god man 10:09 but He could not be all three. 10:12 If He was a good man, 10:15 He would not be saying 10:17 that He existed billions of years ago. 10:20 He claimed to come from another universe besides ours. 10:26 He called it the Father's house. 10:31 The concept of other universes is now in vogue. 10:38 But the Bible spoke about this cosmos, 10:42 and it spoke about something beyond time and space 10:45 and called it the Father's house. 10:49 He came from another world 10:52 and He claimed to be equal to this person 10:56 whom He called the Father, who was God. 10:59 In John 8:58, 11:02 He says these strange words 11:06 that made the Jews so angry. 11:10 John 8:58, "Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, 11:14 before Abraham was," not I was but "I AM." 11:20 The Jews became so angry, so incensed 11:24 that they took up stones to kill Him 11:28 because they knew, as I know, 11:30 that Jesus was claiming equality with Almighty God. 11:34 In the Old Testament, this phrase, 11:37 "I Am that I Am" is referred to only one person. 11:40 Not to a human being, 11:43 it is referred to the self-existent God 11:46 who goes in the holy scriptures by this awesome name 11:51 that we are hesitant even to mention. 11:55 In the Hebrews, Y-A-H-W-E-H, and most scholars would say 11:59 it is the word Yahweh, Yahweh. 12:04 It is somewhat mistranslated Jehovah, 12:07 also it is translated Lord in caps. 12:12 It is Almighty God, the Creator, 12:14 Jesus Christ claimed to be Yahweh, Elohim. 12:21 I had a man coming to my meetings 12:23 many years ago in the city of Glendale, 12:26 which is a part of the greatest city of Los Angeles. 12:29 We were running on a radio station every night. 12:31 I think it was KFSG, I'm not quite sure now, 12:34 but we are on in prime time. 12:36 And one night, I spoke about the prophecy 12:39 that said Elijah was going to return to this earth. 12:43 Of course, it's a symbolic prophecy. 12:46 But after I spoke on the return of Elijah, 12:49 the next Sabbath at church, 12:50 a man came to me after church, 12:52 and he said, "I heard you on the radio 12:55 and I felt I really should come and introduce myself." 12:58 I said, "I'm so glad." 13:00 And when I saw him, you know, he's so nicely dressed, 13:03 had a nice suit, I said, "At last we're appealing 13:06 to very intelligent, sophisticated people." 13:10 So he said, 13:12 "I enjoyed your preaching on the return of Elijah." 13:15 He said, "I want to introduce myself to you. 13:18 I am Elijah." 13:22 I said, "How do you mean you're Elijah? 13:25 Your name is Elijah?" 13:26 He said, "Yes, it is Elijah. 13:28 But I've come in fulfillment of the Bible prophecy." 13:31 He said, "I am the Elijah who was mentioned in the Bible 13:34 and I've come back." 13:35 He said, "I am really Elijah." 13:38 He said, "I'd like to ask you some questions." 13:40 I said, "You shouldn't be asking me questions. 13:43 If you're Elijah, I ought to be asking you questions." 13:47 And he said, "I am Elijah." 13:51 Now when a person comes to you and he says 13:53 that he is Elijah or Moses, 14:00 there's something wrong, isn't there? 14:03 You know, 14:04 not saying anything nasty about that person 14:07 but the elevator stops here somewhere, 14:09 it doesn't go right up. 14:11 A person who claims to be Elijah is deluded, 14:18 the same as a person who says, "I'm Napoleon Bonaparte." 14:21 Now Jesus Christ said, "I am Jehovah." 14:32 So is He a madman? 14:34 But none of His contemporaries ever said 14:36 that He was insane 14:39 but others say, "Well, no, no, no, He's not God. 14:41 He's just a good person." 14:43 Now good people don't say stupid things like this, 14:46 good people don't tell lies like this, 14:48 good people don't tell lies. 14:52 And so Jesus was either a good man, 14:56 a madman, or the God-man. 14:58 You can't have it in any other way, 15:02 and the evidence is that 15:04 He is more than a good man and he is not a madman. 15:08 Therefore, He must be whom He said he was, 15:13 the God-man. 15:14 He went on to say in one of His sermons 15:17 that He was the way, the truth, and the life. 15:20 John 14:6, 15:22 He said these words, 15:25 "I am the way, 15:28 the truth, and the life." 15:33 Can you imagine anybody getting up today... 15:35 Can you imagine the President of the United States 15:39 or Prime Minister of Great Britain saying 15:42 I am the only way you can get to God? 15:46 "I am the way, the truth, and the life." 15:50 Christ is the only way to God. 15:55 "I am the way, I am the truth." 16:00 Truth exists and if you want to discover ultimate reality, 16:05 you find it in this Jewish carpenter, 16:08 "I am the way, the truth, and the life." 16:12 Either He is or else He's crazy. 16:17 He said, "I am the door to God." 16:20 John chapter 10: 9-10, 16:23 He says, "I am the door to God." 16:28 He said, "Everybody else who came before Me was a liar, 16:31 or a cheat, or a robber." 16:33 He said, "If you want to be saved, 16:36 you must come in through Me. 16:39 I am the door." 16:44 These are the most extraordinary claims 16:47 that have ever been made 16:49 in the history of the human race. 16:53 Remember, good man... 16:57 Good man, bad man, madman... 17:05 God-man. 17:08 Now think of the claims that the prophets 17:10 and the apostles made about Him. 17:13 Now most of these people 17:14 who made these claims were Jewish people. 17:18 They claimed that they saw Him walk on the Sea of Galilee. 17:22 And the Bible tells the story you can read it in the gospels 17:26 that there was a tremendous storm, 17:29 disciples were in the boat, 17:31 it looked as though the boat was going to go down 17:33 and going to be drowned. 17:36 And at the moment of their uttermost extremity, 17:39 they see... 17:41 Jesus walking on the water. 17:46 Now the great atheist Richard Dawkins 17:51 derides this and he says, "It's stupid. 17:54 How can you believe in a person 17:57 who claims that He can walk on the water?" 18:01 But somebody said to him, 18:02 "Dr. Dawkins, it's not a problem 18:05 if the person who walked on the water made the water." 18:09 You see? 18:11 And so here is a person who walked on the water 18:15 and He was seen by many witnesses. 18:20 The book of Hebrews 1:10-12 18:24 says these words, 18:25 you can notice it in the Bible, 18:28 Hebrews 1, 18:29 it is a book that is written to the Jewish people 18:32 in the New Testament, 18:34 "You, Lord," 18:36 and the word there in the Old Testament 18:38 from which this passage is taken is Yahweh, 18:41 "You, Lord, 18:43 in the beginning laid the foundations of the earth 18:45 and the heavens are the work of your hands, 18:49 they will perish, but You remain, 18:52 and they will grow old like a garment, 18:55 but You are the same 18:57 and Your years will not fail." 19:01 And so... 19:05 This person who wrote the book of Hebrews 19:10 records the conversation 19:12 that God the Father had with Christ. 19:16 And God the Father says to Jesus, 19:18 "You, Yahweh, in the beginning 19:22 laid the heavens and the earth." 19:24 So He is called 19:28 by the Father, 19:30 Yahweh and the Creator. 19:32 And those of you who are interested 19:35 in astronomical information, listen to this. 19:40 This text teaches that the universe had a beginning. 19:46 This is a relatively new concept. 19:51 Einstein for most of his life 19:54 believed in the steady state theory 19:56 that the universe had no beginning and no end. 20:00 The text says, "In the beginning," 20:04 it teaches that Christ made the universe. 20:06 It also teaches this, listen to this 20:09 if you are interested in scientific fact. 20:13 This text teaches that the universe is temporary. 20:20 I was even brought up to believe 20:22 that the universe had no end years, had a beginning 20:26 but it had no ending. 20:28 But the Bible says that the universe comes to an end 20:35 because we now know it is an expanding universe 20:39 and that which is expanding will come to an end. 20:42 And it teaches however that even though the universe 20:46 or the cosmos will come to an end, 20:49 Christ has no end 20:52 and lives for eternity. 20:56 Now this is why Christ is so amazing. 21:00 He was before the cosmos and will be after the cosmos. 21:05 His disciples and others saw Him alive after His death. 21:12 If you notice... 21:14 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 21:19 the Jewish theologian Paul says, 21:23 "For I delivered to you first of all that 21:25 which I also received that Christ died for our sins 21:29 according to the scriptures, 21:31 and that He was buried, 21:33 and that He rose again the third day 21:36 according to the scriptures." 21:38 And then verses 5 and 6, 21:42 "And that He was seen by Cephas," Peter, 21:45 "and by the 12. 21:47 After that He was seen by over 500 brethren," 21:51 not including women, 21:52 so you got a crowd of probably well over a thousand, 21:56 "the greater part remain to the present, 21:58 but some have fallen asleep." 22:03 Now our legal system 22:04 is based upon 22:06 the validity of witnesses. 22:11 We try people, we condemn people 22:14 on the validity of witnesses. 22:18 We cross question them. 22:20 But the validity of a witness 22:23 is of overwhelming significance. 22:27 I would like to remind you 22:30 that the people who wrote down these stories 22:33 were not charlatans and frauds or liars. 22:38 They so believed in this faith that almost all of them 22:43 were put to death for their faith. 22:47 Generally, you don't die for something 22:49 that you don't really believe in. 22:53 And so these witnesses 22:54 who were basically all Jewish 22:59 said that they had seen Him, 23:01 He had died, and He was resurrected. 23:05 So we are forced by the weight of the evidence 23:07 to believe that Jesus is truly amazing, 23:12 the greatest game changer in the history of the world, 23:16 and that He is alive today. 23:18 So you can't dismiss Him. 23:22 Either He matters nothing at all 23:25 or He matters tremendously, you see. 23:31 There's another reason why Jesus is so amazing. 23:35 I want you to think about this. 23:38 You ready? 23:40 Another reason He is so amazing, 23:44 no one has ever truthfully 23:46 accused Him of adultery. 23:52 Nobody ever said that He hung out with... 24:02 ladies... 24:05 Of bad repute. 24:08 Nobody ever said that He slept around 24:13 and lied about it. 24:16 Nobody accused Him of being a playboy. 24:19 Sure, He hung out with prostitutes. 24:22 You know how he hung out with them, 24:24 He redeemed them, 24:26 He saved them, He elevated them. 24:29 That's what He did. 24:32 No one ever accused Him of being a liar. 24:36 Nobody ever accused Him of being a cheat. 24:40 Nobody ever accused Him of being guilty of tax evasion, 24:44 guilty of fraud, 24:47 guilty of mistreating women. 24:50 He didn't need lawyers to defend Him. 24:56 And you know this? 24:57 He was the champion of women's rights. 25:00 He elevated women, 25:02 He saved women. 25:03 Do you want to see where women are the most respected? 25:07 Go to those countries 25:08 where the Bible is read and studied, 25:12 go to those countries. 25:14 Go to the other countries that reject Him 25:17 and women are down in the dirt. 25:20 The greatest emancipator of women 25:23 in the history of the human race. 25:26 None of His enemies accused Him of sin. 25:28 The dying thief said, 25:30 "This man has done nothing wrong." 25:34 He said, "We're being crucified because of our sins. 25:36 This man has done nothing wrong." 25:39 And the centurion 25:41 who helped to drive the nails 25:45 through the quivering flesh said, 25:51 "Truly, this man was the Son of God." 25:57 The testimony of His enemies. 26:00 Jesus is like a mighty mountain peak, 26:03 the towers over the swamps of the lowlands. 26:08 More amazing truths to come just moments away. 26:24 In this series, John Carter will provide the answers 26:27 to life's most interesting questions. 26:29 Seven great signs of the apocalypse. 26:33 If the dead are unconscious, 26:35 who are the beings that pretend to be the dead? 26:40 This is such a person as the devil. 26:46 What is the essence of Antichrist? 26:53 What is the root cause of this deadly malaise? 26:59 America was founded by people who were opposed 27:03 to the union of church and state. 27:07 But if there's a God who loves us, 27:09 then the future is bright was promised. 27:13 For a gift of $100 USD or $140 AUD, 27:16 this 13 DVD series Prophecy Speaks will be yours. 27:21 Call the number or visit our website. 27:27 Do you sometimes get lost in the crowd? 27:29 Do you feel there's just no love in the room 27:31 like everybody's against you? 27:33 You're all alone with no one to lean on. 27:35 Do you need a word of encouragement? 27:37 Do you know God? 27:38 Have you tried prayer? 27:40 Pastor Carter would like to pray for you now. 27:43 Let us pray. 27:44 Call 1800-526-9777. 27:48 Nothing to buy, the call is free. 27:50 Call 1800-526-9777. 27:56 1.3 billion people live in India, 28:00 200 million of these are Dalits, 28:03 formerly called 'Untouchables' are the lowest members 28:05 of the caste system, 100% of your gift 28:07 will go to fund projects 28:09 for Dalit girls as an alternative. 28:12 Your gift of $600 will educate, clothe, 28:16 and feed one Dalit girl between 5 and 15 years of age 28:20 for one full year. 28:22 Go to CarteReport.org 28:24 or to the address on the screen. 28:29 For a copy of today's program, 28:31 please contact us 28:32 at PO Box 1900, Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 28:39 Or in Australia, contact us 28:41 at PO Box 861, Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:48 This program is made possible through the generous support 28:51 of viewers like you. 28:53 We thank you for your continued support. 28:56 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2018-07-16