Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001907A
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00:02 I'm John Carter in Moscow.
00:04 In Havana, Cuba. 00:07 Now in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. 00:10 I'm John Carter in Petra. 00:13 Right here in Communist China. 00:16 Reporting from India. 00:18 Hi, I'm John Carter in the Solomon Islands. 00:21 I'm John Carter in Soweto. From El Salvador. 00:26 I'm John Carter in Sydney, Australia. 00:29 John Carter tells "Stories from Down Under, 00:32 Grace Abounding Where Least Expected." 00:36 Welcome today. 00:37 We're so glad to have you with us. 00:39 I'm going to talk today about 00:42 "Grace abounding in the most unexpected places." 00:48 Now I've just come back 00:49 from one of the most unexpected places 00:51 where you think you're going to find grace, 00:53 and that is in the land down under. 00:55 I've got some terrific stories to tell you. 00:58 Have you ever heard of the eastern brown snake? 01:01 Well, you're going to see him today, 01:03 I was gonna say we brought one along 01:04 so you can look at that. 01:06 But it's the second most dangerous snake in the world. 01:10 I'm going to show you a picture of it today. 01:12 I want you to take your Bible 01:13 and come over here to the Book of Romans, 01:15 please. 01:16 Romans, let me see where the text is, 01:19 when I get my eyes on. 01:20 Romans 5:20, 01:24 it's one of those super texts in the Bible. 01:28 Romans 5:20 says, 01:32 "Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound." 01:38 The Lord doesn't give us too much good news, 01:41 He tells us that we are offenders. 01:44 "But where sin abounded, grace," what does it say? 01:48 "Grace abounded much more." 01:50 Says in the King James Version, "Where sin did abound," 01:55 you know, the text, "grace did much more abound." 02:01 And even though things may look absolutely bad, 02:06 this is an opportunity for God's abounding grace. 02:13 In the program last week, 02:14 we talked about that great text in the Bible 02:17 where God said to His people in the Book of Deuteronomy, 02:21 "I'm going to make you the head, 02:23 I'm not going to make you the tail." 02:26 God says, "I'm going to bless you in this way, 02:28 and I'm going to bless you in that way." 02:31 And so today, we're going to talk about not just grace, 02:34 but what is it called, abounding grace, 02:38 super grace. 02:42 Now, Sydney is my hometown. 02:46 And my town, which is called Sydney, 02:50 is a secular society. 02:52 When I first came to the United States of America, 02:54 I was sort of amazed 02:57 by how religious the people were. 03:00 I went in to buy a motor car and I got a Bible study. 03:06 I thought there's no other country like this. 03:08 This is... 03:09 No, it used to be, of course. 03:11 But basically, it is a very religious country. 03:15 But Australia is not 03:18 altogether very religious. 03:23 The secular media in Australia would like to have you think 03:28 that Christianity is finished in Australia. 03:33 But as they said in that famous movie, 03:37 remember the line, "You're dreaming." 03:42 You're dreaming, 03:43 if you think Christianity is finished in Australia. 03:48 Sydney is very close to my heart. 03:50 In 1982, I had the privilege of running a campaign 03:54 that lasted for six months in the Sydney, Opera House. 03:59 Sort of just love that place. 04:01 I know inside, backside, front side. 04:05 Had tremendous crowds come to the Sydney Opera House, 04:08 in totally secular Sydney. 04:11 People want to say, this just doesn't have... 04:14 This is inside the Sydney Opera House, 04:16 this is inside the great concert hall. 04:21 Folks find this hard to believe now, 04:24 but we had the largest crowds in the history 04:28 of the Sydney Opera House, 04:30 and that record hasn't been broken. 04:33 And this is going back, 04:34 this is going back to the 1980s, 04:36 and there were people back there like, 04:38 Doubting Thomas, 04:39 they said, "It can't happen, 04:41 it won't happen, it's impossible, 04:43 the days of public evangelism." 04:45 Oh, oh, oh, please, 04:48 don't play the old tune to me 04:51 because I believe, 04:52 and you believe in abounding grace. 04:55 And this, my friend, 04:56 is in secular Sydney 04:59 where the skeptics in the church said, 05:02 "Can't happen." 05:04 The great Roman Catholic theologian, 05:06 Saint Augustine said this, 05:09 "Our souls were made for God, 05:13 and they cannot rest until they rest in Him." 05:17 There's something inside the human heart 05:20 that is empty, restless, and lonely, 05:26 and that is because of the lack of God. 05:30 And even in secular Sydney, people are hungry for God. 05:34 I want to read you a text, 05:35 I want you to come over to one of the great texts, 05:37 Matthew 16:13 to 18, 05:43 dear hearts and gentle people, 05:45 here in beautiful Southern California 05:49 where it's not raining today, it's a beautiful sunny day. 05:52 Matthew 16:13 to 18, 05:56 "When Jesus came into the region 05:58 of Caesarea Philippi, 06:01 He asked His disciples, saying, 06:04 'Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?' 06:08 So they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, 06:10 some Elijah, 06:12 others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 06:15 He said to them, 06:16 'But who do you say that I am?' 06:19 Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, 06:25 the Son of the living God.' 06:28 Jesus answered and said to him, 06:29 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, 06:31 for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, 06:33 but My Father who is in heaven. 06:36 And I also say to you that you are Peter,'" 06:39 that means a stone. 06:40 "You are Peter, the stone, and on this rock, 06:43 I will build My church, 06:44 and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." 06:48 The church is built upon the rock. 06:52 That was Peter's confession. 06:56 "I say unto you," he said to Christ, 06:59 "You are the Son of the living God, 07:02 Christ, the Son of the living God is the rock 07:06 on which Christ built His church." 07:08 Now, I want you to know this, 07:10 I want this to get down 07:11 under the molecules of your mind. 07:14 The church cannot be defeated 07:16 because it is not built upon a man. 07:18 It is built upon Christ. 07:20 The church is not built upon the pope. 07:22 We're not here to discuss or argue with the pope. 07:26 But the pope is not the rock, 07:29 the pope is a sinful human being like you and me. 07:35 And if the church is built upon a sinful human being, 07:39 that church is going to go down. 07:42 But the true church of Jesus is built upon the rock, 07:47 and you can't move the rock. 07:50 You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 07:54 You can't get rid of the church in Australia. 07:56 I don't care what the secular, liberal media 08:00 tries to brainwash the people into believing. 08:03 They're wrong. 08:04 Look at this church here. 08:06 This is in Sydney, Australia, 08:10 one of the biggest churches in the world, 08:13 sending missionaries around the world. 08:16 They're even sending, wait for this one, 08:19 even sending missionaries to America. 08:25 Do you think we need them? 08:28 Yeah, you can't get rid of it, 08:31 can't get rid of the church, 08:33 you can't get rid of the Kingdom of God. 08:36 The prime minister of Australia, 08:39 the honorable Scott Morrison, 08:43 and the leader of the opposition... 08:46 This is the prime minister 08:48 and at the center of the screen, you have... 08:51 This is Parliament House, 08:54 the great city of Canberra where we have lived. 08:58 This is the leader of the opposition, 09:01 her Majesty's loyal opposition. 09:05 This is the Westminster system 09:07 where the leader of the nation 09:09 has to go before Parliament every week 09:13 and be cross questioned. 09:16 Do you think it's a good idea? 09:18 Yes, it is, 09:20 if you want honesty in government 09:21 and if you want honesty from the politicians. 09:28 These are Australia's two main leaders 09:33 and they're both Christians. 09:38 One of the greatest disasters for the Christian church 09:41 was the invasion of Iraq. 09:45 Most people are not aware what a disaster it was. 09:49 We know, Iraqi Christians 09:52 who had to flee from Iraq to Australia, 09:55 America, other countries 09:56 because when Iraq was invaded, 10:01 we almost destroyed the Christian church 10:04 in the Iraq, did you know that? 10:06 We almost destroyed the Jewish people, 10:09 they had to flee and get out of Iraq. 10:13 Tragedy! 10:16 And when somebody was discussing 10:18 the decimation of the Christian church in Iraq 10:21 because of the invasion. 10:24 An atheist said this, 10:25 "Christian should not be too worried 10:28 because you can't kill the church." 10:32 And I don't care what people say, 10:34 you shouldn't be too worried 10:36 because you can't kill the church, 10:38 it is built upon Christ. 10:40 And today, I want to give you some glimpses of grace 10:43 from the most unlikely place from down under. 10:48 Recently, I went to Manila. 10:52 And firstly, I flew to Sydney on what I think 10:56 is one of the best airlines in the world. 11:00 This is not a commercial. 11:03 I flew with Virgin, Australia. 11:08 Just a great airline. 11:11 Now the flight was delayed in Los Angeles, 11:13 and I had a flight to catch from Sydney to another place. 11:17 I didn't have a lot of time. 11:18 So I went, and I spoke to one of the flight attendants, 11:23 and I said, 11:24 "It doesn't appear 11:26 so I'm going to have a lot of time." 11:28 All she said to me, "We'll take care of you." 11:32 This is a true story. 11:35 When I got off and I was at the carousel to get my bags, 11:41 four of these girls came up to me and surrounded me. 11:44 I thought, you know, it must be my good looks. 11:50 I just don't... Can't make this out. 11:53 You know, I had a huge birthday the other day but I thought, 11:56 you know, it must be, must be, even I'm getting pretty old, 12:00 I must be looking sort of agile. 12:04 So I said, "What's up, what's up?" 12:06 They said, 12:08 "We thought you needed some help." 12:11 That sort of deflated me. 12:13 They said, "We're not going to leave you." 12:15 They're helping get my bags off the carousel, 12:18 this Virgin Airlines. 12:23 And then they said, 12:26 "We're going to get you quickly through customs. 12:28 Have you got anything to declare?" 12:29 I said, "Not to you." 12:32 They said, "Have you got anything to declare?" 12:34 I said, "No, no, I've got nothing. 12:35 I got some chocolates from See's 12:37 and all other sort of stuff." 12:40 So they got around me, 12:43 they took me through. 12:45 It's sort of amazing, isn't it? 12:46 And then, I had to check my bag in another place. 12:49 One of these girls said to me, "I'm going to come with you." 12:53 I said, "Are you kidding?" 12:56 She said, "I'm going to make sure you're okay." 12:59 She helped me get my bag on, check it through, 13:03 then she said, "You going to catch this Virgin 13:05 Bus out of here," 13:06 and gives the gentlemen, 13:08 "this youthful gentlemen," she said, 13:10 "give him a ticket, make sure he's got a ticket." 13:13 Then she took me out to the bus, 13:16 caught me up. 13:17 She said, 13:18 "We want to make sure you're okay." 13:22 Now I thought of the words of Jesus, 13:24 "The salt hasn't lost its savor." 13:27 In the most unlikely place, I thought to myself, 13:31 God has got His children everywhere, hasn't He? 13:33 You know, 13:34 you don't have to go into the church 13:36 to find grace. 13:39 Sometime back, 13:40 I was travelling with United Airlines, 13:42 I'm not giving a plug for any of these airlines, 13:44 but I like these airlines. 13:46 I was flying on the Dreamliner, 13:49 which I think is just a greatest plane in the sky. 13:51 I love the Dreamliner. 13:55 I had to travel from the local airport, 14:00 the domestic airport across to the international airport. 14:04 And I was carrying two suitcases and a carry-on, 14:07 and each suitcase weighed about 55 pounds, 14:11 and I've got big carry-on, 14:13 then I've got a thing around my neck, 14:17 in around my shoulder. 14:19 And in that bag around my neck, 14:21 I've got two passports, 14:22 Australian passport and American passport, 14:25 depending on the reception of the country I go to. 14:28 If I got to a country and I say to them, 14:30 "Do you like Americans?" They say, "No." 14:32 I say, "Take my Australian passport." 14:34 And if I go to a place, I said, "Do you like Australia?" 14:36 They say, "We can't stand them." 14:37 I say, "I'm an American, take my American passport." 14:39 Anyhow, I had my passport, I had $1,500 in cash, 14:45 and my plane tickets with United, 14:47 when I walked up to the counter, 14:49 I travelled in this little bus. 14:51 Got all my bags and I'm struggling. 14:55 I go up to the counter, and I say, 14:56 "No, let me get my tickets." 15:00 No bag... 15:05 no cellphone, 15:07 no wallet, 15:09 no credit card, 15:11 no cash, 15:12 no passport, 15:14 what do you do? 15:17 She said, "Go to lost and find." 15:19 I went to lost and found..." 15:20 No, no, we've never seen it, no." 15:23 I was hanging around in lost and found. 15:26 "No, we haven't got it." 15:28 The plane was about to take off and go back to Los Angeles. 15:31 What am I going to do? 15:33 I can't call Beverley, 15:34 I can't call anybody on my team, 15:36 I got no money. 15:38 Well, what am I going to do? 15:39 I don't even have a credit card. 15:41 I thought, "How dumb can you get? 15:43 You put all your eggs in one basket 15:45 and then you lost the basket." 15:48 I left it on the bus, 15:51 so I'm standing there, and I'm praying, 15:53 and I'm thinking, "Oh God!" 15:57 And then all of a sudden, 15:59 I see the girl at the United desk, 16:01 she's waving my bag. 16:04 I come over to her and I almost kissed her. 16:10 She said to me, "You left it on the bus." 16:14 And she said, 16:16 "A young couple got on that bus after you. 16:19 They opened it up, 16:20 and they saw your United ticket, 16:23 they saw your name, and they brought it here. 16:28 They also saw $1500 in cash." 16:31 This happened in Sydney. 16:33 They saw the money, they saw the passport, 16:36 they saw my wallet, they saw the credit card, 16:38 and nothing was missing. 16:44 So you find grace 16:48 in the most unexpected places. 16:50 Look at Hebrews 13:5, dear hearts and gentle people, 16:56 Hebrews 13:5, 16:59 "Let your conduct be without covetousness, 17:02 be content with such things as you have. 17:05 For He Himself has said, 17:06 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' 17:10 " You get that? 17:11 God won't leave you. 17:13 Even when you've lost your passport 17:16 and you've lost everything, 17:17 you can be on top even when you're down under 17:21 and everything is beating you up. 17:24 I promised to tell you about the big brown snake. 17:29 Well, one day, I was staying in Coolangatta 17:31 which is right on the beach, 17:33 the beautiful place in north New South Wales, 17:35 and one night later, I went for a walk. 17:38 And as I was going for a walk, 17:39 I had to walk past what Australians call, a pub. 17:43 You know what a pub is? 17:44 It's a hotel. 17:46 And an old guy came in, real old Australian. 17:49 And he, little tipsy, 17:51 and he said to me, "Hey, sir," he said. 17:54 So I would better stop. 17:56 He said, "You look a very wise man." 17:59 Now he was drunk. 18:00 He said, "You do look a very..." 18:02 He said, 18:04 "Why don't you and I get together, 18:05 and we're going to try to straighten out 18:07 all these young people." 18:08 He said, "They are going off the rails, mate," he said, 18:11 "You and I ought to get together." 18:14 I said, "Well, maybe they don't want to listen." 18:17 And then this old Australian stood there, 18:19 contemplating me, little tipsy. 18:23 And he said, 18:24 "You know what, you're right. 18:26 There's a snake in paradise." 18:31 And so in the best places, 18:35 there's a snake. 18:37 Look at this text here, Genesis 3:1 and 2, 18:39 snake in paradise. 18:41 Genesis 3, "Now the serpent," who's that? 18:44 The devil, 18:45 "was more cunning than any beast of the field 18:47 which the Lord God had made. 18:49 And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, 18:52 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?' 18:55 And the woman said to the serpent, 18:57 'We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden.' 18:59 " There was a snake in paradise. 19:05 Australia has got the most deadly snakes in the world. 19:09 The second most deadly snake in Australia or in the world 19:14 is the eastern brown. 19:17 The most deadly snake is the inland taipan 19:22 or the fierce snake. 19:24 We have a place in Australia to which we go on occasions 19:27 and because it's out in the bush, 19:30 and much of the time uninhabited 19:35 and because it's right next to a mighty river, 19:39 and there are lots of rodents in the bush, 19:41 you have this creature, 19:46 the eastern brown snake 19:49 that has enough venom to kill 20 human beings. 19:55 There is a snake in paradise. 19:58 Number of years ago, it was winter time. 20:01 I was staying out there by myself. 20:04 I came down, 20:05 the long flight of stairs down to the bottom of the house. 20:09 Had no shoes on, 20:11 I didn't bother turning on the lights. 20:13 I'm padding around in my pyjamas 20:16 and bare feet. 20:17 And I see what appears to be a rope. 20:20 I think to myself, 20:22 "I don't remember leaving a rope there." 20:26 So I go and get my glasses and I come back, 20:30 and lying across the floor 20:35 next to one of the surface is an eastern brown. 20:40 Fortunately, it's winter and he's cold. 20:45 But if I'd stepped on him, like a bolt of lightning, 20:49 he would have pump venom into me. 20:52 And I would have had only a short period of time 20:54 to get to the doctor, 20:56 to the hospital 20:57 and receive anti-venom and be placed on a respirator. 21:05 A dangerous snake, 21:07 so I was able to get that snake outside. 21:11 I want to you to hear how. 21:14 But there's a snake in paradise and where there's a snake, 21:19 there is grace. 21:22 There are some snakes that I have observed 21:24 that are worse than brown snakes. 21:28 Drugs, coke, heroin, 21:32 addictive pain killers, 21:34 worse than a brown. 21:37 I've met in my life and you have too, 21:40 many snakes, 21:43 liars, cheats, and frauds. 21:48 There are snakes in paradise. 21:50 Be on your guard. 21:52 But remember, 21:54 Jesus will soon destroy Satan, the serpent. 21:59 Romans 16:20, 22:01 Romans 16:20, 22:04 "And the God of peace will crush Satan 22:07 under your feet shortly. 22:09 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." 22:15 But there is, and you should remember this, 22:18 it doesn't matter how beautiful the circumstances 22:21 or how nice your surroundings, 22:25 there's a snake in paradise. 22:29 I love watching birds. 22:31 One day, I was standing on my veranda, 22:35 looking out towards the ocean, 22:39 and I was watching two eagles soaring. 22:42 Ever done this, watch them? 22:46 Weren't flapping their wings, they're soaring. 22:48 And then I saw a little mother bird 22:51 beating wings like crazy, 22:53 trying to get altitude 22:55 because she had a great attitude. 22:57 And off she got... 22:58 And when she got up high above the eagles, 23:00 she dived bomb them. 23:04 Talk about courage. 23:06 She dived bomb the eagles. 23:07 But they sort of just, 23:09 let it go. 23:11 I stood there 23:13 and I watched these mighty eagles. 23:17 And as they were soaring, they weren't flapping. 23:24 No exertion. They were just, just soaring. 23:28 I stood there and watched them 23:30 until they're up thousands of feet. 23:35 No hard work. 23:36 You know what I thought? 23:40 It's a bit like grace. 23:41 Most of the time, we spend our time flapping, 23:45 and fretting, and fussing, 23:49 and salvation is by grace. 23:52 Please look at Isaiah 40:27 to 31, 23:55 it's one of my favorite texts. 23:57 I read it last night to a Jewish friend of mine, 24:01 who was a doctor, 24:02 who is not being in good health. 24:05 He's not doing too well at present. 24:07 He's going to get better though. 24:09 I'm reading this text, 24:11 Isaiah 40:27 and onwards. 24:15 "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: 24:17 'My way is hidden from the Lord, 24:20 my just claim is passed over by my God.' 24:23 " What's God doing? 24:24 "Have you not known? Have you not heard? 24:26 The everlasting God, 24:28 the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth. 24:31 Neither faints nor is weary. 24:33 His understanding is unsearchable. 24:35 He gives power to the weak. 24:38 And to those who have no might, He increases strength. 24:43 Even youths shall faint and be weary, 24:45 and the young men shall utterly fall, 24:47 but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." 24:51 Listen to it. 24:56 "They shall mount up with wings like eagles. 25:00 They shall run and not be weary. 25:04 They shall walk and not faint." 25:07 Now, my friend, 25:10 I go through life sometimes fretting, 25:13 fussing, 25:14 trying to get impossible things to happen. 25:19 The Bible says, 25:22 "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." 25:25 I saw this down under. 25:27 They shall mount up with wings like eagles. 25:33 That's grace. 25:35 It's not hard work. 25:38 It's letting God put His wind 25:44 under your wings. 25:47 And when you have the wind of God under your wings, 25:53 you'll be on top 25:56 even when you're down under, 26:01 and we'll be back in just a moment. 26:03 Please stay with us. 26:17 The reviews for the John Carter biography are in, 26:20 and this is what they say. 26:22 "Anyone who reads this fascinating book 26:24 and is not moved 26:25 should check to see if they still have a pulse." 26:29 "I believe this book about God's miracles 26:31 in Russia and Ukraine will burn the flame 26:33 in your heart." 26:36 "This could prove to be one of the most important books 26:39 ever written about public evangelism. 26:41 Make sure you get a copy." 26:45 "I believe this book about John Carter's life 26:47 will help readers grasp a vision for their lives." 26:56 For a donation of $100 or more, 26:59 a signed copy of the John Carter biography can be yours 27:02 by writing to us 27:03 at the address on the screen or visit our website. 27:19 Greater Manila is more than 20 million souls. 27:23 Almost all these beautiful people are ignorant 27:26 of the true Gospel of Christ. 27:28 Manila needs Jesus. 27:30 Thirty five years ago, John Carter came to Manila. 27:33 Pastor Carter is returning to Manila 27:35 with an urgent assignment, 27:37 preach the Gospel of Christ 27:39 and the great truths of the Bible. 27:41 Don't water down the message. 27:43 Make it plain, make it clear, make it Christ centered. 27:47 The Carter Report needs your help now 27:50 to light a fire in the Philippines. 27:52 Your gift will help open the doors of bondage, 27:55 smash the chains of sin, 27:57 and open the gates of paradise to thousands of lost souls. 28:01 The churches have sent out an urgent plea 28:04 for the Carter Report to return. 28:06 Help us proclaim the true Gospel of Christ 28:09 to the beautiful Filipino people. 28:11 Please send your support to the address on the screen. 28:14 Visit our website or call the Carter Report. 28:21 For a copy of today's program, please contact us 28:25 at P.O. Box 1900, 28:27 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 28:31 Or in Australia, 28:33 contact us at P.O. Box 861, 28:36 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:41 This program is made possible 28:43 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:45 We thank you for your continued support. 28:48 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2019-04-25