Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001843A
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00:01 Martin Luther, the Catholic priest,
00:03 kindled a firestorm when he told people 00:05 there was a higher authority than the pope. 00:08 They wanted to burn him at the stake 00:10 so dangerous were his teachings. 00:12 But his ideas were too powerful to suppress, 00:15 and the church was forced to retreat. 00:18 The result was a tsunami of freedom and prosperity. 00:23 This battle for personal freedom still continues. 00:26 Who talks for God today? 00:28 Find out on the Carter Report. 00:37 We welcome you today. 00:39 The topic is "Who talks for God? 00:43 Who speaks for God?" 00:44 The pope? The church? 00:48 A big committee? 00:51 A hierarchy of religious leaders? 00:54 Who talks for God? 00:58 This is a very, very important subject. 01:03 Who talks for God? 01:06 Before I start though, 01:09 my mind is full of the events that took place 01:11 in the last few days, 01:13 here in beautiful Thousand Oaks. 01:16 It's supposed to be about the safest place 01:18 in the United States of America. 01:22 We've lived here for many, many years. 01:24 We're a part of Thousand Oaks. 01:29 But just a few days ago, we had a mass shooting. 01:32 Those things don't happen in Thousand Oaks, they do now. 01:37 A mass shooting, 01:39 lots of young people gunned down in cold blood. 01:43 Then the day after, we had these tremendous fires. 01:47 And then I've got a little tickle in my throat today. 01:49 And I'm not saying this facetiously, 01:52 it's because the winds have changed. 01:54 We're not having the awful Santa Ana's, 01:58 but the winds are blowing off where the fires were. 02:03 So I've got a little bit of this in my lungs today. 02:06 Around our house, so much smoke. 02:12 We didn't evacuate, 02:13 but we had our cars loaded up ready to go, 02:15 most of the street evacuated, 02:17 but we're glad that we're alive. 02:21 Now not today, but next week, listen to this, 02:25 I have a red hot topic for you. 02:31 "God and guns in America." 02:38 I say this to my dear wonderful American friends, 02:43 did you know that in the Western world, 02:47 in the advanced world, the first world or world, 02:53 America is the most dangerous place on the face of the earth. 02:58 Now people say... 03:00 We've seen there's been some fighting over, 03:05 squabbles over in London 03:06 and other places in the United Kingdom. 03:10 The chance of you're being killed 03:13 here in the United States of America, 03:16 per capita, per capita, 03:20 is 50 times higher than in the United Kingdom. 03:26 So what is the problem? 03:29 I'm going to talk about the problem, 03:31 which is not obvious to all people. 03:35 Is the problem the gun 03:37 or is the problem the person behind the gun? 03:43 So that's going to be the next topic. 03:46 But the topic today is Who Talks for God? 03:49 Where do I go for answers? 03:51 To my Church, 03:53 to the leaders of the world church, 03:55 the pope, the priest, the pastor, or where? 03:59 What's my authority? 04:01 Luther in one of his debates was asked this question. 04:05 "Do you think, Martin Luther, 04:08 that you are the only one that has the truth?" 04:13 And Martin Luther said these words. 04:17 He said, "I'm free to think as I choose. 04:22 My mind is captive to the Word of God. 04:26 A simple Christian armed with Scripture 04:30 is greater than the mightiest pope without it." 04:35 That's the genius of the great Protestant Reformation 04:37 that made the United States of America. 04:41 "I am free to think as I choose." 04:45 If you're not free to think as you choose, 04:48 then you are a slave. 04:51 He said, "I'm free to think as I choose. 04:54 A simple Christian armed with Scripture 04:58 is greater than the mightiest pope without it." 05:03 Don't forget it. 05:06 Our authority is not the church, 05:09 it is not the priest, it is not the pope, 05:13 it is not some hierarchy, it is not the pastor. 05:19 It is the Word of God. Amen. 05:21 Now take your Bibles and turn over here with me 05:23 to Matthew 4:1-4, 05:27 Matthew 4:1-4. 05:33 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit 05:35 into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 05:39 When He had fasted forty days and forty nights, 05:42 afterward He was hungry. 05:45 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, 05:48 'If You are the Son of God, 05:49 command that these stones become bread.' 05:53 But He answered and said, 'It is written, it is written, 05:59 Man shall not live by bread alone 06:03 but by every word 06:04 that proceeds from the mouth of God.' 06:11 " You can't get by without food, drink, and water. 06:17 And you're going to die. 06:19 You're going to shrivel up inside 06:21 without the Word of God. 06:24 There were three great temptations for Christ. 06:28 The first temptation was a temptation 06:30 to turn stones to bread, to fill our bellies. 06:36 He said, "It is written." 06:37 The second one was the call for a miracle, 06:41 "Cast yourself down." 06:44 Jesus said, "It is written." 06:46 The third temptation was the power and the glory. 06:50 "I'll give you the power of the world, 06:52 I'll give you the power of the church. 06:56 I'll just give you power." 06:57 Jesus said, "It is written." 07:02 There's an answer to every situation. 07:05 The answer is, "It is written," the Word of God. 07:11 Now back to Martin Luther. 07:12 This is a little aside. 07:15 Before Martin Luther and the Reformation, 07:17 the world was in great moral and spiritual darkness. 07:21 Most people are completely oblivious 07:24 to the facts of history. 07:26 Before Martin Luther, 07:29 there was no religious or political freedom. 07:32 The Bible was kept from the people. 07:34 In fact, people who read the Bible 07:37 were burned at the stake by the church. 07:41 They were burned for the crime of thinking differently. 07:45 And I'm going to say something 07:47 which is totally, politically incorrect. 07:50 And you can be mad with me on or not. 07:53 I am not a Republican, and I'm not a Democrat 07:57 because I do not want people thinking for me 08:00 and telling me what I should do. 08:03 I am an independent. 08:06 And you say, "No, no, no. 08:08 The party! The party!" 08:09 Listen, the party, the party, 08:12 the party is going to get people in the last days, 08:15 the mark of the beast. 08:17 The party, the party, the party! 08:19 Think for yourself, 08:21 don't be a slave to any man. 08:27 You don't like that? Well, there's more to come. 08:30 Revelation 17:3-4, the apocalypse. 08:33 Revelation 17, notice it. 08:36 "So he carried me 08:37 away in the Spirit into the wilderness. 08:39 And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast 08:43 which was full of names of blasphemy, 08:45 having seven heads and ten horns. 08:48 The woman," that's the symbol of the church, 08:50 "was arrayed in purple and scarlet, 08:52 and adorned with gold, precious stones, pearls, 08:57 having in her hand 08:58 a golden cup full of abominations 09:01 and the filthiness of her fornication." 09:03 Listen, 09:05 we live in an age of tremendous ignorance 09:10 in the church. 09:13 In Bible prophecy, 09:15 a woman is symbolic of the church, 09:19 a harlot is a harlot church. 09:23 The pure woman is the pure church. 09:26 Now this is a picture of the church in the dark ages, 09:30 verses 5 and 6 of the Revelation 17. 09:34 "And on forehead a name was written, mystery, 09:38 Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots, 09:43 and of the abominations of the earth. 09:45 I saw the woman church, 09:47 drunk with the blood of the saints 09:49 and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. 09:52 And when I saw her, 09:53 I marveled with great amazement." 09:56 The church in the dark ages, the so called Christian church, 10:00 but it wasn't, 10:01 put to death millions of people. 10:05 The true church of God never coerces. 10:09 Jesus never forces the will. 10:12 Jesus never comes into your life and 10:16 He never says, 10:17 "You've got to do this 10:18 or else I'm going to kick you out." 10:21 That's the voice of the antichrist. 10:24 So we believe in freedom of speech 10:27 and we believe in freedom of religion. 10:31 Luther and his Reformation unleashed 10:34 a tsunami of freedom and prosperity. 10:39 If we had not had the Protestant Reformation, 10:43 we would have been in the blackness 10:45 of the dark ages with persecution. 10:48 You didn't know this? Study your history. 10:51 Why do you think America came into being? 10:53 To change the analogy. 10:55 Come to Isaiah 60:1-2, 10:59 Isaiah 60:1-2. 11:02 "Arise, shine. For your light has come! 11:06 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 11:09 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, 11:11 and deep darkness the people. 11:14 But the Lord will arise over you, 11:16 and His glory will be seen upon you." 11:19 The Bible says, 11:21 "Light will bring forth in darkness." 11:25 It always does. 11:28 And it did through the preaching 11:29 of Martin Luther and others. 11:31 Let me tell you, folks, something 11:33 whether you're a Democrat or Republican 11:37 or Calathumpian or independent 11:40 or nothing. 11:43 People today want what we have. 11:47 Why is America inundated 11:51 with these poor people? 11:55 You know why they're coming? 11:59 They're coming because they want freedom. 12:02 They're coming because they want prosperity. 12:06 Mothers are even sending their children by themselves 12:09 because they want them to be free from the gangs. 12:14 And I'm going to tell you something that you'll never, 12:15 never hear on television. 12:19 These poor migrants are coming 12:23 because they're coming from lands 12:30 that are still ruled by the Church of the dark ages 12:35 or the penny drops, 12:38 they are coming from countries 12:41 where they have no freedom like they have in America 12:45 or Australia or Great Britain. 12:50 You better get that into your minds. 12:52 They're fleeing oppression, crime, and poverty. 12:58 Now come back to Luther before the Diet of Worms. 13:03 He was told, 13:04 "You must give up your ideas and submit to the majority. 13:09 You must bow to the voice of the church." 13:12 People have told me stuff like that. 13:17 He says this. This is what he said. 13:19 "I cannot submit my faith 13:21 either to the pope or to the councils 13:25 because it is as clear as day 13:29 that they have frequently erred and contradicted each other." 13:34 That's the truth. 13:37 "Unless I am convinced by the words of the Bible 13:40 or by clear reasoning, 13:44 my conscience is captive to the Word of God. 13:48 I cannot and I will not recant for it is unsafe 13:55 to go against conscience. 13:58 Here I stand, I can do no other. 14:03 God help me. Amen." 14:06 Oh, I wish we had some Luthers today. 14:10 I wish we had some men of courage today. 14:13 We seem to be breeding a race of namby-pambies. 14:22 So I asked the question, 14:24 what is our ultimate authority 14:26 in matters of conduct and faith and doctrine? 14:30 Who speaks for God? That's the question. 14:35 Every person today needs to ask and answer that question. 14:40 Is it the church? 14:44 Is it tradition? 14:47 Is it a bunch of religious leaders 14:50 gathered from around the world 14:53 who think that somehow they'd become infallible? 14:57 Is it a hierarchy? 15:06 You know, the greatest temptations are found 15:09 not in the world. 15:10 Listen to this. 15:12 The greatest temptations are found not in the world 15:16 but in the charge. 15:19 The lust versus spiritual power. 15:23 I tell you what are going to do. 15:25 Why? 15:27 Because I speak for God. 15:29 There's my friend Dr. Russell Owens in Texas 15:34 used to say, "That's phony baloney." 15:39 The Word of God speaks for the Word of God. 15:43 We do not need in assessors. 15:46 Is it tradition? 15:48 "Oh, we believe it, for so long, 15:50 we do it because we do it, because we do it." 15:54 Is it a hierarchy? No, no, no. 15:57 Come over here to 2 Timothy 3:13-15, 16:01 the words of Paul. 16:03 2 Timothy 3:13, 16:05 "But evil men and impostors 16:09 will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 16:13 And that from childhood 16:15 you've known the Holy Scriptures, 16:17 which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith 16:20 which is in Christ Jesus. 16:22 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God 16:25 and is profitable for doctrine," 16:28 that's teaching, "for reproof, for correction, 16:31 for instruction in righteousness, 16:33 that the man of God may be complete." 16:36 You don't need anything more. 16:38 "Thoroughly equipped for every good work." 16:40 Amen. 16:42 That is our authority. 16:45 We have an infallible source 16:48 of spiritual truths. 16:52 It can make you wise for salvation, 16:55 how much more do you want? 16:57 Wise for salvation. 17:00 Paul says, "It will give you doctrine." 17:04 If your doctrines... 17:05 I want to say to my Christian friends, 17:08 if your doctrines are not based upon Scripture, 17:12 then you're being deceived. 17:15 Well, no. 17:19 All doctrine must be based upon Scripture... 17:28 For reproof. 17:30 I need reproof? Yeah. 17:32 Don't you tell me I need it? 17:35 We all need reproof. 17:37 If I'm going in the wrong way, I need a hand on my shoulder, 17:42 God's hand to turn me around, 17:45 reproof, correction, 17:49 that's because we're such sinners. 17:50 "Oh, but I'm not a sinner." 17:52 Yes, you are. Ask your family. 17:54 You see, for correction, instruction in righteousness. 18:00 And we discover when we read Scripture 18:03 that righteousness is not an attainment, 18:08 it is through atonement. 18:11 It says so that we might be complete, mature 18:15 that we will stop being babies, 18:17 and we will grow up. 18:18 Lots of people simply grow older, 18:21 but they never grow up. 18:24 The Bible says, 18:25 "If you're in the same old way 18:27 and you've been doing it for years, 18:29 it's time to grow up." 18:32 And you grow through the reading of Scripture 18:34 thoroughly equipped for salvation. 18:38 In the dark ages, this is history, 18:41 go and get your computer and look up online 18:45 and study about the Inquisition 18:47 or go and read about the Spanish Inquisition. 18:49 In the dark ages, 18:51 the Bible was rejected by Roman church leaders, 18:55 who burned the Bibles and heretics. 18:58 And most of the heretics who were burned were earnest, 19:03 zealous, God fearing Roman Catholics, 19:07 burnt by their own church. 19:09 Go and study the Spanish Inquisition, 19:12 go online. 19:15 And many people in America 19:16 have completely forgotten their glorious destiny 19:20 because they don't know where they came from, 19:23 they have no idea of the genius of America, 19:26 they have no idea about 19:29 the ideal of America. 19:33 Haven't got a clue, 19:35 what do they teach kids in school I wonder. 19:40 I went in to have my... 19:42 I went in to have my car service, 19:44 there's a pretty girl... 19:46 I was getting a loaner car, you know? 19:49 She said, "What is your name?" 19:50 I said, "John Carter, C-A-R-T-E-R." 19:55 Okay, because my accents are little different. 19:57 You see, John Carter, I spelled it out. 20:00 I said, "The same as Jimmy Carter." 20:03 She said, "Does he have his car service here too?" 20:10 So I guess if you've never heard of 20:11 Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan, 20:14 then probably you've never heard of the pilgrims. 20:19 Mm-hm. 20:22 We need to know some of these things. 20:26 This is the truth. 20:27 That's why the pilgrims came to America. 20:30 They came to America 20:31 because they wanted to breathe free air. 20:35 They wanted the right to worship God 20:37 according to the dictates of their conscience. 20:40 They wanted a state without a king 20:43 and a church without a pope. 20:47 That was the genius of America. 20:49 Many Americans haven't got a clue today. 20:54 But they came here because they wanted freedom. 20:59 We take our stand with Martin Luther 21:01 and all the great reformers, 21:03 including that prolific writer 21:06 of the 19th and 20th centuries 21:08 Ellen White. 21:11 The Bible and the Bible alone. 21:13 Now come with me to 2 Timothy 4:1-2. 21:17 These are the words of that great preacher, 21:20 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Paul says, 21:23 "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus, 21:26 who will judge the living and the dead 21:28 at His appearing and His kingdom. 21:31 Preach the word! 21:33 Be ready in season and out of season. 21:36 Convince, rebuke, exhort, 21:37 with all longsuffering and teaching." 21:40 So Paul says, "Preach the word!" 21:44 Because the word is the authority. 21:48 And now notice verses 3, 4, and 5 of 2 Timothy. 21:52 Here it is. 21:54 "For the time will come 21:55 when they will not endure sound doctrine, 21:58 but according to their own desires, 22:01 because they have itching ears," like donkeys. 22:05 They want their ears scratched. 22:07 Itching ears. 22:10 I've preached a plenty of congregations 22:12 with itching ears. 22:13 "They will heap up for themselves teachers, 22:16 and they will turn away their ears from the truth, 22:21 and be turned aside to fables. 22:23 But you be watchful in all things, 22:25 endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist," 22:29 Whatever happened to that, do the work of an... 22:32 But it doesn't work anymore. "Do the work of an evangelist." 22:36 We don't do it. I can tell you, church is dead. 22:39 Nobody going to your church, it doesn't work. 22:42 "Do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 22:47 Now the greatest of all the preacher, 22:49 said to this young guy, "Preach the Word!" 22:53 And that's what we ought to do. 22:55 And who are these creatures with the itching ears? 23:01 I've met heaps of them. 23:04 They want you to tell them those things 23:07 that are going to tickle their ears. 23:09 They're going to say to you, 23:10 "Oh, don't talk about those things, 23:13 tell us that we can break all of the commandments of God, 23:16 we can steal, and we don't have to restore. 23:20 We can steal, and we don't have to pay back. 23:24 Just scratch our ears." 23:26 The ear scratchers and the ears that are scratched 23:30 are going to go down to hell together. 23:34 Years ago, I was running with my family, 23:36 and my team, bunch of volunteers 23:40 running here in a Harare, Zimbabwe, 23:43 Salisbury, Rhodesia. 23:44 I got lots of opposition. 23:47 When you preach the Word, you're going to get opposition. 23:50 If you're not getting opposition, 23:52 it's because you're not worth opposing. 23:56 Some preachers are like, "I don't get any opposition." 23:58 Of course, you don't. 23:59 Why would anybody wanted to oppose, 24:01 just leave you long enough and you'll die anyhow. 24:04 So we were preaching the Word and we got strong opposition. 24:08 I even got a message from the pope, 24:10 personal message. 24:13 But one night, 24:15 the government sent along representatives, 24:18 they'd been in the audience every night, 24:22 they came along the leader of the government, 24:24 and he said, "I need to speak to this great audience 24:26 because people want to shut you up, 24:30 they want us to deport you." 24:37 Then he came out and he spoke to the people. 24:39 Beverley was there. 24:41 We had a great choir from Solusi College, 24:44 "Come and sing the African national anthem." 24:47 There was glory in the air. 24:50 Then this man came out 24:51 and stood in front of me, he said, 24:53 "I've been listening to you night after night," 24:57 he said, "Pastor Carter." 24:58 Then he made the sign of the cross 24:59 Anglican background. 25:01 "In the name of the Father 25:02 and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 25:05 preach the Word." 25:07 He said, "Preach the Word." He said, "Preach the Word." 25:12 He said, "What this country needs 25:15 that has been torn apart by racism and terrorism, 25:21 it needs preachers who got fire in their bellies, 25:25 and they will... not little old grannies, 25:30 not babies, not cry baby." 25:34 He said, "We need preachers 25:36 who will preach the Word from Genesis 25:41 right through to Revelation. 25:42 "Preach! 25:44 Preach the Word," he said. 25:47 Now we're talking about 25:51 who speaks for God? 25:54 Is it a church council? 25:57 Is it the hierarchy? 26:02 And I'll be back with more in just a moment. 26:07 Stay with us. 26:09 Who speaks for God? 26:25 God has got a time and a place for everything, 26:28 nothing happens by chance. 26:33 In spite of the powers of darkness, 26:36 nothing can destroy the church of God. 26:41 And I'm not ashamed 26:43 of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 26:48 That the gospel is not about you and me, 26:51 it is the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ. 26:57 What and where is heaven? 27:04 This DVD series from John Carter will be yours 27:07 with the gift of $50 US or $70 AUD. 27:10 Write to us at the address on the screen. 27:12 Visit CarteReport.org, 27:14 your home for inspirational teaching. 27:26 Time, it takes only a minute to have eternal life. 27:30 How can you get saved in a minute? 27:31 It's simple. 27:33 First, believe that Jesus was the Son of God. 27:35 Second, accept His free gift of eternal life. 27:38 And then you're saved. 27:40 It's not hard. 27:42 It doesn't take any time. 27:43 You can be saved in a minute right now. 27:46 Pray with me, 27:47 "Lord God, I realize that I am a sinner. 27:50 My sin has separated me from You. 27:53 I accept that Your Son Jesus Christ died for me. 27:56 I ask Jesus into my heart." 27:58 If you prayed this prayer, you're saved. 28:01 The next thing to do is tell someone, 28:03 fellowship with other followers of Jesus, 28:06 get baptized, 28:08 read your Bible, and pray. 28:10 Choices, 28:11 we make them every day, all day, 28:13 the most important choice you will make in your life 28:16 is whether to choose eternal life 28:18 or let it pass you by. 28:20 If you would like more information 28:21 about your new life, 28:23 call the number and visit our website. 28:29 For a copy of today's program, 28:31 please contact us at P.O. 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Revised 2019-01-28