Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001818A
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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 Oh, welcome back. 00:27 Today, we're talking about 00:28 the greatest game changer of them all, 00:32 the person who has changed the world 00:36 more than any other single individual. 00:40 I want you to think at this state now 00:42 and this is follow-on from the last program. 00:45 I want you to think of His teachings. 00:49 I went to the Soviet Union for the first time 00:51 in the year 1971. 00:54 I was at Moscow airport, and as I was standing there, 00:59 a communist official came up to me 01:01 and started to interrogate me just a little bit. 01:04 And he started to deride Christianity saying, 01:07 "You know, like Rostov said, it's all going to be gone soon. 01:09 We're just going to take over the world," 01:11 and blah, blah, blah. 01:12 I said to him, "Do you know what Jesus taught?" 01:16 Now usually if you talk to an atheist and say, 01:18 "Do you know what Jesus taught?" 01:20 You know what he's going to do, don't you? 01:21 He's just going to give you the blank look. 01:23 He's going to say, "Oh, no, but 01:26 all those people carried out the inquisitor..." 01:28 "No, no, it had nothing to do with Jesus, 01:30 don't give me that stuff." 01:32 "Do you know what Jesus taught?" 01:34 Well, I said... 01:35 Well, he said, "No, I really don't." 01:37 I said, "I've got a Bible that I'm carrying around the world. 01:40 This is my own personal Bible. 01:42 I really don't want to lose it, 01:44 but I think maybe you need it more than I do." 01:48 So I gave him my Bible and I said... 01:50 Let us together do something. 01:53 I want you to come over here to Matthew 5 01:55 and verses 43 and 44 01:58 and notice what this Jewish carpenter said. 02:03 Matthew 5:43, 44. 02:06 This is one of the most extraordinary, 02:09 one of the most revolutionary teachings 02:12 in the history of the world. 02:13 Jesus said, "You have heard that was said, 02:17 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 02:21 But I say to you, love your enemies, 02:25 bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, 02:30 and pray for those who spitefully use you 02:34 and persecute you." 02:37 Goodness, how many people really do that 02:42 who call themselves Christians? 02:45 Jesus said, "You got to love your enemies." 02:50 You know the man who lost his daughter 02:52 at the hands of the Irish Republican Army in Ireland? 02:58 That's where the Catholics and the Protestants fought 03:02 and killed each other for the love of God. 03:07 And so this beautiful girl is dying in her father's arms 03:11 and murdered by the IRA. 03:16 Her last words, "Daddy, I love you." 03:22 After the funeral, 03:24 he sought so hard to have a meeting 03:29 with the leaders of this infamous gang of murderers. 03:35 After a long time, he was able to meet them. 03:39 They thought perhaps he'd want to kill him, but he said, 03:45 "I've come with one message. 03:48 I'm a follower of Christ, and I forgive you." 03:53 That's something they couldn't understand. 03:56 He said, 03:58 "Haven't we killed enough in this country of Ireland? 04:03 Isn't it time for Catholics and Protestants 04:06 to follow the teachings of Christ 04:09 and love one another?" 04:12 This was the end of the violence in Northern Ireland. 04:18 The man who said, "I forgive you." 04:21 You know the biggest problem today in the Middle East? 04:25 You know why they can't get peace 04:26 between the Jews and the Arabs? 04:30 Every president thinks he's going to do it, 04:33 but the problem is every president 04:35 is fighting against human nature 04:39 because human nature hates. 04:42 But Jesus said, "Love your enemies." 04:47 The Middle East will never have peace 04:49 until they accept the Prince of Peace, 04:53 who taught us to love our enemies, 04:58 a bitter pill for the so-called Christian to believe. 05:04 You've heard of the born fools in Russia, 05:08 where the communists with militant atheists, 05:11 and tortured, and beat people to deaths. 05:15 That's what atheism does. 05:17 That's what communism does. 05:21 And they were a group of Baptists there. 05:25 And they would see the communists and the atheists 05:28 beating other communists and atheists 05:31 and they would be screaming and blaspheming. 05:35 And the Baptists said, 05:38 "Don't beat the atheists, beat us. 05:41 When you beat them, more hate will go into the world, 05:46 but when you beat us, 05:49 we will send love into the world." 05:52 So they did. 05:55 You know what the atheists call them? 05:58 Born fools. 06:00 They said they've got to be born fools. 06:06 But I want you to know that the greatest force in the world 06:10 is not military might which has failed us completely 06:16 but it is love. 06:18 On one occasion, 06:20 the Pharisees sent men to arrest Jesus, 06:23 but they came back empty-handed. 06:26 They couldn't bring Him back, and they said to those men, 06:30 "Where is the man we told you to arrest?" 06:34 And they said, "Never man spoke like this man." 06:40 His teachings are totally extraordinary, 06:44 hardly known or believed by people 06:47 who call themselves His followers 06:50 let alone the atheists. 06:56 But I have reserved for the last, 06:58 the greatest reason why He is the greatest game changer 07:02 and why He is so extraordinary and so amazing. 07:08 We are born to live. 07:09 Every baby that is born is born to live. 07:13 But He was not born to live. 07:16 His destiny was to die. 07:19 If you turn to Acts 4: 27, 28, 07:23 these are profound almost overwhelming thoughts, 07:27 Acts 4:27-28, 07:33 "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, 07:35 whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, 07:40 with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, 07:43 were gathered together to do whatever Your hand," 07:47 wait for it, "and Your purpose determined 07:50 before to be done." 07:53 This teaches the sovereignty of God 07:58 and that Jesus was the child of destiny. 08:08 He was born to die. 08:10 I want you to notice, 08:13 and we're going to go through this 08:15 not with any great exegesis 08:17 because we don't have the time, 08:19 but I want you to notice 08:20 ancient predictions about this child of destiny. 08:24 The place of His birth was predicted. 08:27 His parents came from a little town 08:31 by the name of Nazareth. 08:35 But they had to go down to a town 08:38 by the name of Bethlehem. 08:40 Jesus could have been born anywhere 08:43 except the prophecy said that He would be born in Bethlehem. 08:50 And you can read it in the Jewish Old Testament 08:53 in the book of Micah 5:2. 08:58 The text says, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 09:01 though You are so little among the thousands of Judah, 09:05 yet out of you shall come forth to me 09:08 the one to be ruler in Israel," 09:11 look at these words, "whose goings forth 09:13 are from of old from everlasting." 09:16 He was the one from billions of years ago. 09:20 It was predicted He would not be born in Nazareth 09:24 but in Bethlehem. 09:25 The miracle of His birth was predicted. 09:28 Isaiah 7:14, it was predicted, 09:32 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign, 09:35 behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, 09:39 and shall call His name Immanuel." 09:42 Mary was engaged to a good man by the name of Joseph. 09:47 And before the marriage, 09:48 it was discovered she was pregnant. 09:50 He was going to put her away. 09:52 But an angel came down and said, 09:54 "Don't be worried about this beautiful little girl 09:58 because that which is conceived in her womb is of God." 10:04 People say, "Can't believe in the virgin birth, 10:07 it's an absolute impossibility." 10:11 How much do you know? 10:14 How much do you know? 10:17 Don't you realize 10:18 that the God who made the stars can do anything? 10:24 Nothing is too hard. 10:26 It was predicted that He would live in Egypt. 10:31 Hosea 11:1 says, "When Israel was a child, I loved him. 10:37 And out of Egypt I called My Son." 10:40 The Bible tells us that Herod the Great tried to kill Him. 10:45 And therefore Joseph and Mary took the little baby 10:50 and took Him down here to the land of the Pharaohs. 10:56 It was predicted. 10:58 It was written down. 10:59 The year of His baptism and death was predicted. 11:05 This is so complex. 11:08 I'm not going to try to prove it to you. 11:10 It was predicted that there'd be a period of 483 years 11:16 that would come after the decree 11:18 of Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 11:22 and this brings you through to the year 27 AD. 11:28 And that was the 15th year 11:30 of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, 11:32 and that was the year, 11:34 that was the time when Jesus appeared 11:37 to the children of Israel. 11:41 This was the year when John the Baptist baptized Him. 11:44 It was the time when Jesus said, "The time is fulfilled. 11:48 The kingdom of heaven is at hand." 11:51 Three and a half years later, 11:53 in the midst of the final prophetic week, in 31 AD, 11:59 the Messiah was cut off and murdered. 12:02 It was predicted. 12:04 Let me share quickly the prophecy with you. 12:07 Daniel 9:25-27, 12:11 "Know therefore and understand that 12:12 from the going forth of the command to restore 12:15 and to build Jerusalem," 457, 12:17 "until Messiah the Prince there shall be 12:19 seven weeks and sixty-two weeks..." 12:21 483 years, "and after the sixty-two weeks, 12:25 Messiah shall be cut off but not for Himself," 12:28 He'd be murdered, "and the people of the Prince," 12:30 the Romans, "who was to come shall destroy the city 12:34 in the sanctuary." 12:35 That happened in 70 AD, 12:37 "Then he shall confirm the covenant 12:39 with many for one week," the last week, 12:41 "and in the middle of the week," 31 AD, 12:44 "He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering." 12:48 There's only one thing that could bring an end 12:50 to all the Jewish sacrifices in their old temple 12:54 and that was the sacrifice of the Lamb of God Himself. 12:59 Astounding. 13:01 Astounding. 13:03 I do not believe because of blind faith. 13:07 I believe in Christ 13:08 because of overwhelming evidence, 13:13 lived on time, preached on time, 13:17 was baptized on time, died on time. 13:20 It was predicted He'd be betrayed by a friend. 13:23 Psalms 41:9 says, 13:27 "Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted," 13:31 Judas, "who ate my bread, 13:36 has lifted his heel against me." 13:40 He was betrayed by one of His closest friends. 13:46 It was predicted. 13:50 The price of his betrayal was predicted, 13:53 30 lousy pieces of silver. 13:57 Zechariah 11:13, "And the Lord said to me, 14:02 'Throw it to the potter' 14:04 that princely price they set on me. 14:06 So I took the 30 pieces of silver 14:09 and threw them into the house of the Lord 14:12 for the potter." 14:14 The priests gave Judas 14:18 30 dirty pieces of silver 14:24 to bite Christ. 14:26 How many people have sold Christ for money, 14:30 and political power, and to win the votes? 14:39 And after the die was cast and Christ was arrested, 14:45 Judas took the 30 dirty pieces of silver, 14:50 blood money, and went into the Jewish temple, 14:54 and threw it to the priests, and he said, 14:58 "Your blood be on your own head, serious, 15:00 do it yourselves." 15:03 Judas went out and hanged himself, 15:05 and the Jewish leaders 15:08 bought the potter's field. 15:13 It was written down thousands, hundreds of years 15:16 before He was born. 15:19 He was a child of destiny, not like anybody else, 15:24 not like you and me. 15:25 The manner of His death was predicted. 15:29 By crucifixion. 15:31 Psalms 22:16, "For dogs have surrounded Me, 15:37 the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. 15:41 They pierced My hands and My feet." 15:43 Crucifixion... 15:47 these words written in 1000 BC, 15:51 crucifixion was not known. 15:54 It was predicted that the Jewish Messiah, 15:57 Yahweh, Elohim, 15:59 God in human flesh would be crucified, 16:03 the worst type of death. 16:06 Who was this person hanging on the cross? 16:10 Not a Jewish renegade, not a heretic, 16:14 this was the Creator of the universe 16:18 come down to save us. 16:25 People today are mesmerized 16:28 by every little newsflash. 16:33 Breaking news, who cares, 16:36 it's dead in one second. 16:40 It's trivia. 16:41 It's humbug. 16:43 Most of it, it was predicted 16:46 that God would be manifested in human flesh 16:51 and died for the world. 16:54 The greatest truth in the history of the world, 16:56 not politics, none of this stuff, 16:59 it'll all be gone soon. 17:04 But the truth of Christ, the greatest game changer, 17:09 it was predicted 17:11 that none of His bones would be broken. 17:13 Psalm 22:17-18, "I can count all My bones. 17:20 They look and stare at Me. 17:23 They divide My garments among them," they did, 17:26 "for My clothing they cast lots." 17:29 They did. 17:32 Jesus was put on the cross at 9:00 in the morning. 17:34 He was dead at 3:00 in the afternoon. 17:39 Remarkable, man could live on the cross for a week. 17:44 He was dead in six hours, why? 17:47 Because of the sin of the world. 17:51 So they came before the Sabbath 17:54 to break the legs of the criminals. 17:57 They were going to take them down, 17:59 lie them at the foot of the cross, 18:00 and put them up on Saturday evening 18:03 'cause they could live for another few days. 18:10 When they came to Christ, His bones were not broken 18:15 because He was dead, because it was written. 18:25 It was predicted that His death would be for sinners, 18:27 His burial in a rich man's tomb. 18:31 Isaiah 53:9, 18:34 "And they made His grave with the wicked," 18:36 in the midst of two thieves, 18:39 "but with the rich at His death," 18:41 buried in a rich man's tomb, 18:43 "because He had done no violence, 18:45 nor was any deceit in His mouth." 18:50 Buried in a rich man's tomb. 18:51 It was also predicted 18:56 that the grave could not hold Him. 19:01 In Psalms 16:10, 19:04 written a thousand years before He was born, 19:07 "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol 19:12 nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption." 19:19 He was dead at 3:00 on Friday. 19:22 He was anointed, 19:23 put in the tomb before the Sabbath. 19:30 But on the Sunday morning, there was a mighty earthquake, 19:37 and Jesus the Creator of the universe 19:42 walked out of the tomb, 19:46 walked out of the tomb and said to the world 19:50 and the hosts of evil, 19:53 "I am the resurrection and the life." 19:57 He is the greatest game changer because He's not dead, 20:03 He's alive. 20:06 He's alive. 20:08 He's alive. 20:11 Every baby boy, every baby girl, 20:16 every baby is born to live. 20:18 He was completely different. 20:20 He was God in human flesh. 20:26 Some people say, "Well, of course, 20:27 it doesn't matter what you believe, 20:29 it doesn't matter what your religion is." 20:31 It's, of course, very shallow thinking, it's really puerile. 20:38 Either He is whom He claimed to be 20:41 or else He's a crazy lunatic. 20:45 But if He is whom He claimed to be... 20:51 And this is why astronomy fascinates me 20:53 and why I study it, 20:55 the one who made the black holes 21:00 and 400 billion galaxies, 21:05 400 billion, 21:08 one who made all of these things... 21:13 slept for 9 months in the womb of a peasant girl, 21:19 completely apart from the priests 21:22 and the political establishment. 21:27 And then went to the cross, 21:29 hanging on the cross was the gospel. 21:32 One of the strangest texts is Matthew 27:45-46, 21:38 "Now from the sixth hour," twelve o'clock, 21:41 "until the ninth hour," three o'clock, 21:43 "there was darkness over all the land. 21:44 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 21:48 saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' 21:50 That is, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"' 21:55 This is an extraordinary way to die. 21:58 I do not want to die as Jesus died 22:03 because He did not die as a saved soul, 22:07 He died under the wrath of the broken law of God. 22:13 And all of our sins were laid upon Him. 22:17 And He was punished in our place. 22:20 And that is why He said, "My God, My God, 22:25 why have You forsaken Me?" 22:28 Every person outside of Christ 22:30 one day is going to say those words. 22:34 In the second judgment 22:35 when people come up in their brilliance, 22:37 they're going to cry out, "My God, My God, 22:39 why have You forsaken me?" 22:43 But they don't need to 22:45 because He bore the price of our sins. 22:51 There may be some things 22:52 that our dull, dumb minds can't comprehend, 22:56 but I can understand a little bit. 22:59 John 3:16, 23:04 you know the words, 23:06 John 3:16, 23:10 "For God so loved the world" 23:16 how big "that He gave His only begotten Son," 23:23 the Monogenes, the one and only, 23:26 "so that whoever believes in Him should not," 23:29 or shall, "not perish 23:34 but have everlasting life." 23:37 So that's why He's the greatest game changer. 23:40 That is why as a Christian, 23:41 I find it quite extraordinary to see 23:43 Christians playing around in mud puddles 23:47 and other people completely obsessed with politics. 23:51 It's all going to be gone soon. 23:53 It's all trivia. 23:57 But Christ endures forever. 24:01 We get caught up in other things 24:04 because we really have never met Him. 24:09 Not only is he the greatest game changer 24:12 in the history of the planet, 24:14 the good news is He will change your life 24:19 if you let Him. 24:22 If you let Him, He will come into your life 24:26 and He'll make you into a new person. 24:31 And because of His grace, 24:34 He will take you to be with Him in paradise. 24:40 That's His promise. 24:42 And so we say "Amazing grace, 24:48 how sweet the sound 24:50 that saved a wretch like me. 24:55 I once was lost, 24:58 but now I'm found. 25:03 I was blind, 25:06 but now I see." 25:08 Many years ago, I heard this poem, 25:13 Oh, It's Him because the Bible says, 25:18 He will come again, 25:21 and He comes again 25:23 as King of kings and Lord of lords. 25:26 "Look ye Saints! 25:29 The sight is glorious. 25:33 See the man of sorrows now, 25:36 from the fight returned victorious, 25:41 every knee to Him shall bow, 25:46 crown Him, crown Him, 25:50 crown Him, crown Him. 25:54 Crowns become 25:57 the Victor's brow." 26:01 I present to you today Jesus Christ, 26:07 the greatest game changer of them all. 26:11 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, 26:15 and of the Holy Spirit, amen. 26:25 Jesus said, "All authority has been 26:27 given to Me in heaven and on earth. 26:31 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. 26:35 Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 26:39 and of the Holy Spirit." 26:43 John Carter reports we have seen God's power 26:46 as the gospel of Christ 26:48 has been proclaimed in Africa, 26:51 India, Russia, 26:57 Ukraine, Cuba, 27:02 El Salvador, and many other places. 27:06 We invite you to partner with us 27:09 in proclaiming Jesus Christ. 27:15 To God be the glory. 27:18 Great things He has done. 27:23 Write today to the Carter Report. 27:26 P.O. Box 1900, 27:28 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 27:33 That's The Carter Report, 27:35 PO Box 1900 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 27:42 In Australia, write to The Carter Report, 27:46 PO Box 861, Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 27:53 That's The Carter Report 27:55 P.O. Box 861, 27:57 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:02 Thank you for your generous support. 28:04 We look forward to hearing from you soon. 28:07 May God richly bless you. 28:25 For a copy of today's program, please contact us 28:29 at PO Box 1900, Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 28:35 Or in Australia, contact us 28:38 at PO Box 861, Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:44 This program is made possible 28:46 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:49 We thank you for your continued support. 28:52 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2018-07-16