Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001824A
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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. 00:25 Welcome back, my friends. 00:27 I'm so glad to have you here today. 00:29 We're talking about this amazing man 00:32 by the name of Paul. 00:34 This man who changed the course of the history of the world, 00:38 and I believe, was responsible for the rise of America. 00:43 You say impossible, well, just stay tuned. 00:46 He was, the Bible tells me first and foremost, 00:50 an impassioned evangelist. 00:53 He was a preacher of the gospel. 00:56 Some people say to me today, 00:58 "Well, you know, we don't do that anymore." 01:00 I know we don't do it anymore, 01:02 that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it anymore. 01:05 But if we follow the Bible, 01:06 I want to tell you, folks, something, 01:08 we'll be doing it all of the time. 01:11 Paul was an apostle, it means a person 01:13 who was sent forth by God to preach the gospel. 01:16 Now I want you to take your Bible, 01:17 come over here to Romans 1:14. 01:20 I guess these are his signature verses. 01:23 Romans 1:14, he says, "I'm a debtor both to Greeks, 01:29 and to Barbarians, both to wise, and to unwise. 01:34 So as much as is in me, 01:38 I am ready to preach the gospel to you 01:41 who are in Rome also. 01:43 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, 01:46 for it is the power of God to salvation 01:48 for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, 01:51 and also the Greek." 01:54 Now here you've got a number of expressions 01:57 just pregnant with power, he says, "I'm ready." 02:01 that's in the King James Version. 02:03 Other versions say, "I'm obligated." 02:05 "Because I've heard the good news, 02:07 I'm obligated to tell other people." 02:08 You see? 02:10 "If you saved, 02:11 you've got to tell the good news." 02:12 I'm obligated. 02:14 Then he says, "I am eager." 02:17 He's not getting paid to do this. 02:20 He's not waiting for a check from the conference. 02:25 He doesn't get a check from anybody. 02:29 He says, "I am eager," 02:31 because he's got a fire in his belly. 02:35 If you don't have a fire in your belly, 02:37 you're going to be boring, it doesn't matter 02:39 how many doctorates you got. 02:42 He says, "I'm obligated, I'm ready, I'm eager, 02:47 and I'm not ashamed." 02:49 Living in the days of the Roman Empire, 02:52 and you're worshipping a crucified Jew. 02:59 Can you believe it? 03:01 You're living in the days of the sophisticated Romans, 03:06 in the days of the great philosophers, 03:09 and you're worshipping 03:13 a Jew, who was murdered on the cross. 03:18 Anybody who got crucified was a bad person. 03:23 Paul says, "I'm not ashamed. 03:25 I'm not ashamed of the gospel." 03:27 Because if you get the gospel by divine revelation... 03:29 Most folks have never got the divine revelation. 03:32 Most folks have got too much religion. 03:35 I don't care what church you're in, 03:37 most folks have got too much religion, 03:40 and that is why 03:41 they have this sanctimonious critical attitude. 03:45 Who'd want to go along to a place like that 03:47 to a church where people are sanctimonious 03:50 and they're mean. 03:52 But this man says, "I'm not ashamed." 03:56 Because this gospel 03:57 that I preach about a crucified Christ, 03:59 it's the power of God unto salvation 04:03 to every person who believes. 04:06 I can't help myself here. 04:08 Paul was not an armchair theologian. 04:13 He was not... 04:15 Oh, goodness, I don't know if I can press this 04:17 or get this out. 04:19 He was not an administrator 04:22 sitting behind a desk. 04:25 Now I'm sorry, folks. 04:26 You say, "Don't tell us." I'm just telling you the truth. 04:29 He was an itinerant evangelist, 04:33 an apostle one sent on a mission. 04:36 If you read 1 Corinthians 12, the Bible says, 04:40 "The most important gift that was given to the church 04:44 was the gift of going to all the world 04:46 to preach the gospel." 04:48 Now you can say, "We don't do it anymore." 04:50 Shame on us. 04:52 Look at the trips that he made. 04:55 These are the places. 04:57 He went on three great missionary journeys. 05:03 When I travel today, usually if I can do it, 05:09 I go on the Dreamliner 05:12 because it's very comfortable. 05:16 Paul walked 05:18 thousands of miles. 05:21 He also went by boat. 05:23 Look at all the places. 05:25 The second missionary journey, the third missionary journey, 05:29 we're talking here about thousands of miles, 05:32 and then finally 05:34 he went across the Roman Empire to Rome. 05:40 And why did he do it? 05:41 I've met people today who tell me 05:43 that everybody is saved until they reject the gospel. 05:49 Don't believe that at all. 05:51 If that is true, the best thing you can do is not to tell them 05:53 so they can't reject it. 05:55 Hey, what's wrong going on up here? 05:57 People are lost without Christ. 06:01 And because Paul believed in the primacy of Christ, 06:05 he was driven by a fire 06:08 that was deep down in his belly, 06:13 not a clergyman as we call them today. 06:18 And Paul operated outside of the comfort zone. 06:21 I've had... 06:22 Even preachers, and friends of mine, 06:24 and other people say, 06:25 "Well, look I just don't want to get out of my comfort zone." 06:28 Well, I wish 06:29 God would get you out of your comfort zone. 06:32 Because when we're in our comfort zone, 06:34 we're not in God zone, I want to tell you. 06:38 He preached out of the comfort zone. 06:39 Look at 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, 06:43 read it if you're prepared to look at the facts. 06:47 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, 06:50 "From the Jews 06:53 five times I received forty stripes minus one. 06:58 Three times I was beaten with rods, 06:59 once I was stoned, 07:01 three times I was shipwrecked, 07:05 a night and a day I've been in the deep, 07:07 in journeys often, in perils of waters, 07:10 in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, 07:15 in perils of the Gentiles, 07:17 in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, 07:21 in perils in the sea, 07:23 in perils among false brethren," 07:26 that's the worst, 07:29 "in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, 07:32 in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, 07:35 in cold nakedness besides the other things, 07:39 which come upon me daily. 07:40 My deep concern for all the churches." 07:45 He talks about being beaten for his faith. 07:51 Does anybody really understand what we're talking about? 07:54 You know, I've been to Russia 49 times. 07:57 I've met with people like Paul the prisoner, 08:00 these are my blood brothers, and I appreciate them 08:03 because they are real people. 08:06 Tortured by the Communists, 08:07 Paul was thrown into a refrigerator cell. 08:12 Three years, take him in and out, 08:15 warm him up put him back. 08:18 His teeth rotted and fell out. 08:20 You say, "We could never do this." 08:22 You know why? Because we're too weak. 08:25 It's because we're superficial people. 08:28 But great suffering produces great character. 08:33 It's an old hymn we love to sing, 08:35 Lord save us from tribulation. 08:38 What a heresy, 08:39 save your church from tribulation. 08:46 The church is never strong 08:49 when it's in a time of peace and prosperity. 08:54 He was beaten, 08:57 take the flesh off his back, stonings. 09:02 On one occasion, he was stoned, 09:03 left for dead. 09:05 Hey, he's a preacher. 09:07 He's a man of God, he's not a wimp, 09:10 he's not a namby-pamby. 09:13 You say, "Well, you know, I can't help being..." 09:15 Yes, you can. 09:17 If you're a namby-pamby, 09:19 it's because you've chosen to be a namby-pamby. 09:22 And you ought to be ashamed to yourself. 09:26 When you think of Paul, 09:29 when he went over to Rome, 09:31 there was a shipwreck. 09:33 He got out to collect wood for a fire, 09:35 he was bitten by a snake, a viper. 09:40 He flung it off into the fire. 09:44 Attacked by bandits, sleepless nights, 09:47 hunger and thirst, his care for the churches. 09:50 He had a pastor's heart. 09:54 He cared for people. 09:57 I want to say to my brethren, who are in the ministry, 10:01 if you're in the ministry because of security 10:04 and because it's a good check 10:08 every two weeks, you're in the wrong job. 10:13 And if you're in the church, 10:14 and if you're taking a check 10:18 just so you can have a comfortable job, 10:20 you're a disgrace to the name of Christ. 10:26 But this man was a real man. 10:30 Seems to me today, 10:31 we're breeding a lot of namby-pambies, soaks. 10:37 What was his crime? 10:39 Well, he was seen as a dangerous man 10:41 who was a threat to the Jews and the Romans. 10:44 What was his message? 10:45 He preached Jesus was God's Son, 10:47 the creator of the universe, 10:49 that He'd been rejected by the Jewish leaders, 10:52 that Jesus had been betrayed by the Jews to the pagan Romans 10:56 who had crucified him. 10:58 Talk about an informatory message. 11:02 It taught that Jesus had died for the sins of the world, 11:05 that He'd been raised from the dead. 11:08 He preached that He'd seen Jesus in glory, 11:12 that Jesus was alive, 11:14 and that He would come again to judge the world 11:17 in righteousness, and deliver His people. 11:20 He preached the forgiveness of sins, 11:23 salvation by grace to be received by faith 11:28 and not by works of the law, 11:29 the very opposite 11:31 of the doctrine of the Pharisees, 11:34 that some of us still believe, I'm afraid. 11:37 He proclaimed the power of a new life 11:39 and deliverance from the power of sin. 11:45 Thousands across the Roman Empire 11:46 accepted his gospel and joined the church. 11:50 Satan trembled for his kingdom. 11:53 He was hated and persecuted by the Jews and the Romans. 11:57 He was fervently loved by those he'd won to Christ. 12:01 He was no incipit, so called clergyman, 12:04 who was afraid of his own shadow. 12:10 Look at 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. 12:13 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 12:16 "Therefore we do not lose heart. 12:18 Even though our outward man is perishing, 12:21 yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 12:24 For our light affliction," who're you kidding? 12:27 Our light affliction. 12:29 It only last for a moment. 12:30 "It's working for us a far more exceeding 12:33 and eternal weight of glory, 12:35 while we do not look at the things which are seen, 12:37 but of the things which are not seen. 12:40 For the things which are seen are temporary, 12:43 but the things which are not seen," 12:45 what does it say? 12:47 "They're eternal." 12:49 Paul believed there was glory ahead. 12:53 He was driven by a passion to save the lost for Christ. 12:58 If you're a pastor, I'd ask you, 13:00 "Do you have a passion for the lost? 13:02 Or do you have a passion for retirement? 13:07 Thus he endured the beatings and the stonings, 13:10 the hunger and the cold, and maybe some crabby, 13:15 critical, church members. 13:19 He was one of the bravest humans 13:20 who had ever lived. 13:22 He wasn't a crybaby, 13:23 he was one of the bravest soldiers 13:25 who had ever lived. 13:27 Now we talk about his magnum opus 13:32 that I shall discuss more fully next week. 13:35 While working in Corinth, Paul wrote the Book of Romans, 13:40 his magnum opus. 13:45 It was carried, we believe, by Phoebe from Corinth to Rome. 13:50 She, under her robe, 13:52 carried the future of the church, 13:55 and the future of the world. 13:58 Romans was the book that inspired Martin Luther, 14:01 who gave to the world the Protestant Reformation 14:04 that brought about the rise of America. 14:06 No. Yes. 14:09 And the birth of freedom. 14:14 Most of us have forgotten 14:15 what the world was like 14:18 before Luther. 14:22 There was a corrupt, all powerful church. 14:27 No freedom of speech or religion, 14:30 great poverty of the masses, 14:32 then Luther discovered the Book of Romans. 14:35 Have you discovered it? 14:40 Tyndale, the great British reformer 14:42 called it "Good, glad, and merry tidings 14:46 that makes a man's heart to sing for joy, 14:50 and his feet to dance." 14:52 Why are there 14:54 so many sour religionists? 14:59 I'll tell you why. 15:02 They've never had a divine encounter. 15:05 They're in the church to be seen. 15:08 They want to be seen, 15:10 but they don't want to be clean. 15:13 They want to be an elder or somebody else in the charge. 15:16 Good morning, sister. 15:18 Good morning, brother. 15:23 I think the Bible calls 15:24 that the abomination of desolation. 15:27 But when a person discovers the Book of Romans 15:30 or when the Book of Romans discovers a person, 15:32 and that person has a divine revelation, 15:35 his life is changed. 15:36 Now let me tell you about this divine revelation. 15:39 I talked about it 15:40 in the first part of this program. 15:43 Some of you may think you've had it. 15:47 You think because you were born in the church, 15:50 you're baptized in the church 15:53 that you're somehow saved. 15:59 What happens is like Paul, 16:04 and others have a divine revelation. 16:06 They see themselves as a stinking filthy sinner, 16:09 have you? 16:10 Not me. 16:12 Oh, you haven't had the revelation, have you? 16:15 In their heart of hearts, they're racist. 16:17 They're proud, very confident of themselves, 16:21 very, very religious, 16:27 and on their way to hell. 16:30 Like Paul... 16:34 say, you got to have the divine revelation. 16:37 Don't go to bed tonight till you get it. 16:39 Look at your sins, ask God to show your sins. 16:43 That's a good start. 16:45 Book of Romans shows the sinner, 16:47 how the sinner gets right with God 16:48 and stays right with God. 16:50 It is the revelation of God's revolution 16:52 that destroys the power of sin. 16:54 Romans 1:1-4, 16:57 "Paul, a bondservant of Christ Jesus 16:59 called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 17:03 which He promised before 17:04 through the prophets in the Holy Scriptures 17:07 concerning..." 17:08 We don't read these words, we don't believe it, 17:10 "concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord," 17:12 people say, "It's all about me." 17:14 No, it's not about you at all. 17:16 It's about Christ. 17:19 "Who was born of the seed of David 17:20 according to the flesh, 17:22 and declared to be the Son of God with power 17:24 according to the resurrection to the spirit of holiness 17:27 by the resurrection from the dead." 17:29 The gospel is not about us. 17:32 People say, "No, it is all about..." 17:34 No, it is not. 17:36 There's no good news about you or me. 17:39 You say, "I don't believe this." 17:41 Well, that's because you're walking in darkness. 17:44 You never had the revelation. 17:46 You're super religious... 17:51 but you never had the revelation. 17:53 The gospel is about what God has done. 17:56 The gospel, it says, 17:58 "It's about what Christ has done." 18:01 The God has invaded time and space 18:03 in the person of His Son. 18:05 Lived among us, the only sin this person has ever lived. 18:08 Some people say, "Oh, no, but I'm sinless." 18:11 You're deluded. 18:12 There are no sinless people. 18:17 That's a delusion. 18:21 It's about Christ, who died for us on the cross. 18:26 When we come to him, 18:30 live is never the same again. 18:33 Listen, wherever Romans went, it brought new life, 18:37 health, and healing, it destroyed corruption. 18:42 It's not easy to read, 18:43 that's why lazy people don't read it. 18:46 It unmasked the paganized church. 18:49 It brought hope, life, and liberty. 18:51 It was carried to America 18:52 by the Pilgrim Fathers. 18:58 Without Paul there would have been 19:00 no Romans. 19:01 Without Romans, there would have been no reformation. 19:05 Without the reformation, 19:07 there would have been no Puritans. 19:09 Have you ever heard of the Puritans? 19:11 Ever heard of them? 19:12 People say, "Oh, no, we don't... 19:14 That's not us." 19:16 Get informed. 19:19 Without the reformation, no Puritans, and no Puritans, 19:23 no America, but another Venezuela. 19:27 How would you like that? 19:29 The other religion got there. 19:31 You say, "It doesn't matter what you believe." 19:35 Please, please, let's not be ignorant. 19:39 No democracies in the world, no women's rights. 19:43 Women are the freest 19:45 where the gospel is preached, 19:46 it is. 19:48 No freedom of speech, no freedom of religion, 19:51 no separation of church and state, 19:53 no life liberty, 19:54 and the pursuit of happiness. 19:57 Thank you, Paul. 19:59 Now I'm going to start two meetings, 20:04 a synopsis of Romans 20:08 that very, very few people in the church 20:11 know anything about. 20:17 And that's why we have the problems we do. 20:20 Now we come to Paul, Nero, the burning of Rome, 20:24 and decapitation. 20:27 Paul was arrested in Jerusalem. 20:29 It came about this way. 20:31 Because Paul was being criticized 20:33 by the Jews, 20:35 the leaders of the church, good people, 20:38 thought it would help the situation 20:40 if Paul engaged in a Jewish religious ceremony. 20:45 So he did what they said. 20:48 It led to his imprisonment and death. 20:53 While Paul was in the temple 20:55 carrying out the right of Jewish purification, 20:57 he was attacked by a Jewish mob. 21:00 And remember, Paul was a Jew, 21:02 Jesus was a Jew, the Bible writers were Jews. 21:06 Never be anti-Jewish. 21:08 Look at Acts 21:27, 21:13 "Now when the seven days were almost ended, 21:15 the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, 21:19 stirred up the whole crowd, 21:22 laid hands on him." 21:26 And so Paul is pulled this way, and that way, 21:28 and they're going to murder him. 21:32 The Roman soldiers saved Paul, 21:34 and he was delivered from the mob, 21:36 who would have torn him to pieces, 21:38 that's shows you what bigotry, religious bigotry does. 21:43 He was thrown into prison, 21:44 and the Roman stretched him out to flog him, 21:47 stretch him out, going to soften him up. 21:51 Paul says, 21:53 "Is it lawful to flog a Roman citizen?" 21:58 They released him. 22:00 He went through several bogus trials. 22:03 Attempts were made on his life by the Jews. 22:06 Eventually, Paul, as a Roman citizen, said, 22:09 "I appeal to Caesar." 22:11 He was sent by boat to Rome. 22:14 Along the way, ship was shipwrecked 22:16 on the coast of Malta, 22:17 there he was bitten by the snake. 22:20 When he finally arrived in Rome, 22:22 he was placed in prison. 22:24 Eventually, he stood trial before Nero. 22:27 Nero was one of the most evil men 22:28 in the history of the world, born 37, died 68. 22:32 It would have been good if he'd never been born. 22:35 Emperor from 54 to 68, 22:37 best known for his debaucheries, 22:39 his political murders, his passion for music, 22:42 and the persecution of Christians, 22:44 he murdered his own mother in 59 AD. 22:49 And Paul stands strong. 22:51 2 Timothy 4:6, 22:55 13, 16, 17. 22:57 2 Timothy 4:6, he says, 23:00 "I'm already being poured out as a drink offering, 23:03 and the time of my departure is at hand..." 23:06 Then he says, he's cold. 23:09 "Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas 23:12 when you come and the books, especially the parchments..." 23:15 He said, "Give me my Bible." 23:18 "At my first defense no one stood with me, 23:20 but all forsook me." 23:21 Where were they? 23:24 "May it not be charged against them. 23:26 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, 23:29 so that the message might be preached 23:31 fully through me, 23:32 and that all the Gentiles might hear. 23:34 Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." 23:37 When he stood before Nero, 23:39 he preached such a mighty sermon 23:42 that that evil man was overcome 23:45 by the passion of Paul, 23:48 and he released him. 23:51 And some time later, Nero, the monster, 23:56 who's going to burn for a long time. 23:58 "Oh, no, he's not." 24:00 Wait and see. 24:02 Nero to make room for some new buildings 24:04 burned Rome. 24:07 The people were enraged, 24:08 so he blamed Paul and the Christians, 24:10 they did it. 24:12 Paul was rearrested and found guilty. 24:16 He was beheaded alone, alone, 24:21 but it's not over. 24:23 2 Timothy 4:7, 8, 24:27 he writes from the prison in Rome, 24:30 "I fought the good fight, 24:34 I have finished the race, 24:37 I have kept the faith. 24:40 Finally, there is laid up for me 24:42 the crown of righteousness, 24:43 which the Lord, the righteous judge, 24:47 will give me on that day, 24:48 and not to me only but also to all 24:52 who have loved His appearing." 24:59 He says, "By the grace of God 25:02 I've been faithful." 25:04 I haven't apostatized, 25:05 I haven't run away from any battles. 25:08 He said, "I've fought the good fight, 25:10 I finished my course, I've kept the faith." 25:16 Then they take him out. 25:19 Because he's a Roman citizen, he is not crucified 25:22 or anything like that, he is beheaded. 25:28 But one thing is 25:30 absolutely certain, my friend. 25:34 This mighty Jewish man of God, 25:39 who gave us the true gospel in the Book of Romans, 25:46 he will be with Christ in glory. 25:50 He will have the crown of life. 25:54 And I think, I'm right, 26:00 a very special place in the kingdom of God. 26:05 I present to you today, 26:08 the prince of the apostles, 26:12 the great Apostle Paul 26:14 for the glory of God. 26:17 Amen and Amen. 26:26 Jesus said, 26:28 "All authority has been given to Me 26:30 in heaven and on earth. 26:32 Go therefore, 26:33 and make disciples of all the nations. 26:36 Baptizing them in the name of the Father, 26:39 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 26:44 John Carter reports, we have seen God's power 26:48 as the gospel of Christ has been proclaimed in Africa, 26:53 India, 26:56 Russia, 26:58 Ukraine, 27:01 Cuba, 27:04 El Salvador, and many other places. 27:08 We invite you to partner with us 27:11 in proclaiming Jesus Christ. 27:16 To God be the glory. 27:19 Great things He has done. 27:24 Write today to the Carter Report, 27:27 P.O. 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Revised 2018-10-18