Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001822A
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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 to the great Lady Game Changers. 00:29 We've been talking about that fascinating character, 00:32 Mary Magdalene, the ex-prostitute. 00:36 I want you to notice something amazing about this lady, 00:40 found in Mark 14:3-9, 00:44 take your Bible, Matthew, 00:46 Mark 14:3-9. 00:52 "And being in Bethany 00:55 at the house of Simon the leper," the Pharisee, 00:59 "as He sat at the table, 01:00 a woman came having an alabaster flask 01:03 of very costly oil of spikenard." 01:07 $50,000 worth. 01:09 "Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. 01:13 But there were some who were indignant 01:14 among themselves, and said, 01:16 'Why was this fragrant oil wasted? 01:19 For it might have been sold for more than 300 denarii, 01:23 a year's wages, and given to the poor.' 01:26 And they criticized her sharply. 01:28 But Jesus said, 'Let her alone. 01:32 Why do you trouble her? 01:33 She has done good work for Me. 01:35 For you have the poor with you always, 01:38 and whenever you wish you may do good to them, 01:42 but Me you do not always have. 01:44 She has done what she could." 01:46 Look at this. 01:47 "She has prepared my body beforehand 01:51 to anoint my body for burial. 01:54 Assuredly, I say to you, 01:56 wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, 01:59 what this woman has done 02:00 will also be told as a memorial." 02:05 Want you to notice something, most folks don't get... 02:08 I never got it. 02:10 She broke the alabaster vase. 02:14 That sounds again an awful waste of me. 02:18 And alabaster vase 02:20 is worth a lot of money. 02:24 Why did she do this? 02:27 Why did she break the alabaster vase? 02:30 Did you know this at a Jewish funeral, 02:34 at the ceremony, 02:35 when they would anoint the corpse with oil, 02:40 they broke the vase. 02:43 And then they put the vase 02:46 with the corpse in the coffin. 02:51 Jesus said, "Let her alone, she broke it 02:56 because she knows 02:58 I'm going to the cross." 03:02 But nobody else got it. 03:07 The men didn't get it. 03:10 Remember Peter? 03:12 He said, "This is not going to happen to you, Lord." 03:17 When the men didn't get it, 03:19 when the apostles didn't get it, 03:22 the ex-prostitute got it. 03:25 What does that tell you? 03:27 It tells you about the grace of God. 03:30 She had a heart for God 03:32 because the gospel was revealed to her. 03:36 I'm going to say something to you, 03:38 you're either going to get this 03:40 or else it's going to wash over your head, 03:43 something you're just not going to comprehend it, 03:47 but some of you will. 03:50 The truth of the gospel of Christ 03:54 is a mystery. 03:57 It is not only taught from the pulpit, 04:01 it is revealed supernaturally by the Holy Spirit. 04:05 And if it isn't supernaturally revealed to you, 04:09 you will be a hard hearted Pharisee in the church. 04:18 The men didn't get it, but the ex-prostitute got it. 04:24 You know why she got it? 04:26 She felt her need. 04:32 She and the other women 04:33 took care of Jesus out of their own means. 04:37 When Jesus and his rag tag army came into town, 04:42 Mary was there, mentioned first. 04:45 When the disciples ran away, Mary was there. 04:48 Mark 15:39-41, look at this text. 04:53 So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, 04:55 saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, 04:59 'Truly this man was the Son of God! 05:02 There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were," 05:05 number one, "Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James 05:08 the Less and of Joses, 05:09 and Salome, who had also followed Him 05:12 and ministered to him when He was in Galilee, 05:14 and many other women 05:16 who came up with Him to Jerusalem." 05:23 Mary is there, when the men ran to the hills, 05:29 Mary ran to the cross. 05:34 She watched as He was laid in the tomb. 05:37 She was at the cross, she was at the tomb. 05:40 Mark 15:46, 47, 05:44 "Then he brought fine linen," this is Joseph of Arimathea, 05:48 "took Him down and wrapped Him in the linen. 05:51 He laid Him in a tomb 05:53 which had been hewn out of the rock, 05:55 and rolled a stone," a great stone, 05:57 "against the door of the tomb. 05:58 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses 06:03 observed where He was laid." 06:05 She was there at the tomb. 06:09 She helped to prepare the oils to anoint his broken body, 06:14 she had done it before. 06:16 I'm not going to read it to you now 06:17 'cause I don't have time. 06:18 Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jews, 06:20 not all the Jews crucified Christ. 06:23 Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin. 06:26 He was the child of God. 06:28 And he came out of the dark, he'd been a Christian, 06:32 he'd been hiding in the dark, he came to Jesus by night. 06:35 And he comes to anoint the Lord's body. 06:39 And if you read it in many translations 06:42 like this one here, the New King James version, 06:44 it says, "He brought 100 pounds." 06:52 If you work that out, spikenard, 06:55 it means $5 million worth. 07:02 But it wasn't enough for Mary. 07:06 You know why? 07:08 Because on that Friday afternoon, 07:11 she goes home and she prepares more. 07:16 You know whom God loves? 07:17 A generous person. 07:20 You know a person who is closest to the devil 07:22 in character are scrooge, 07:25 a mean, a tight person. 07:29 If you met them, 07:31 maybe there are some here today. 07:33 People who are tight. 07:35 John 20:1 says... 07:39 John 20:1, "Now the first day of the week, 07:43 Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, 07:46 while it was still dark, 07:47 and saw that the stone had been taken away 07:49 from the tomb." 07:51 She was first at the tomb, at the cross, 07:55 ex-prostitute, think about it. 08:00 She found Him in the garden. 08:03 She was the first person Christ spoke to, Mary. 08:07 John 20:10-16, 08:10 "Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 08:12 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping," 08:15 it says in other translations, sobbing, sobbing, 08:21 "and as she wept she stooped down 08:23 and looked into the tomb. 08:24 And she saw two angels in white sitting, 08:26 one at the head and the other at the feet, 08:28 where the body of Jesus had lain. 08:30 Then they said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' 08:33 She said to them, 08:34 'Because they have taken away my Lord, 08:36 and I do not know where they laid Him.' 08:39 Now when she had said this, 08:41 she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, 08:44 and did not know that it was Jesus." 08:47 Why? 08:48 Because she's crying. 08:51 People say, "I don't want any emotion in my religion." 08:55 Then you'll never have Christ. 08:57 You'll be cold as a Pharisee. 09:00 "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? 09:03 Whom are you seeking? 09:05 She, supposing Him to be the gardener said to Him, 09:07 'Sir, if you've carried Him away, 09:10 tell me where you have laid Him, 09:12 and I will take Him away.' 09:14 How? 09:17 "Jesus said to her, "Mariah!" 09:23 The ex-prostitute. 09:26 Think about it. 09:28 Mary anointed Him to prepare for His death. 09:30 On Friday, she prepared anointing oils 09:33 for His broken body. 09:35 If you read the gospels, it says, "After the Sabbath, 09:37 on the Saturday night." 09:39 I've missed this for years. 09:41 "She went out and bought some more. 09:44 A hundred pounds is not enough. 09:47 She was there at the cross, she was first at the tomb, 09:52 she was first to bring, meet the resurrected Lord. 09:56 She was the first to bring the disciples good news, 09:59 she became the apostle 10:02 to the apostles. 10:06 That's why God loved her so much. 10:08 He had a special love for Mary 10:11 because Mary has got a heart like God, 10:13 it's a generous heart. 10:15 The Pharisee heart is the heart of the devil. 10:20 Some people say, "I couldn't do, 10:21 I couldn't go, I can't..." 10:25 Then you are of your father, the devil. 10:29 She, the ex-prostitute, was honored to heaven. 10:32 She was redeemed and saved from a life of sin. 10:35 She provided the Lord with food on His journeys. 10:39 She anointed Him with fragrant spices twice. 10:43 She was with Him when He died. 10:45 She was first at the tomb. 10:48 She was the first person to see Him 10:50 when He was resurrected. 10:51 The first person to announce His resurrection. 10:56 And hence, the ex-prostitute, 11:02 is one of the greatest game changers in history. 11:06 The story of Mary tells us 11:08 there's hope for every one of us. 11:10 God saved Mary, there's hope for you. 11:15 His grace is greater than all our sins. 11:17 The love of God to save Mary, but there's one thing 11:20 that God finds it very hard to deal with. 11:23 I want to tell you, 11:24 and that is a self-righteous 11:27 hard heart. 11:31 Those people put Christ on the cross. 11:37 Mary was ahead of them all. 11:43 Then there's Tabitha. 11:45 Dorcas, the lady who was raised from the dead. 11:49 Acts 9:36, 37, "At Joppa, 11:53 there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, 11:56 which is translated Dorcas. 11:58 This woman was full of good works 12:00 and charitable deeds which she did. 12:03 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died." 12:06 Good people die. 12:08 "When they had washed her, 12:10 they laid her in an upper room." 12:14 In Arabic and Greek a name means gazelle, 12:16 an animal noted for its graceful movements 12:19 and large beautiful eyes. 12:23 She was not famous for teaching or preaching. 12:27 She was famous 12:29 for kindness. 12:34 Remember what the little girl said, 12:35 "Dear, God, make all the bad people good, 12:38 and all the good people kind." 12:42 Are you a good person? 12:43 Are you kind? 12:48 God especially loves kind, generous people. 12:53 When I was a student studying for the ministry, 12:55 I was very poor. 12:58 I worked full-time studying, and also had to work long hours 13:01 to pay for board and tuition costs. 13:04 During vacation breaks, 13:07 I work selling books from door-to-door, 13:09 Beverley did the same. 13:11 She's followed a similar program. 13:14 We don't regret it. We... 13:15 It was good for us and taught us 13:17 the value of paying for what you get 13:19 without government handouts. 13:25 When I was at Avondale with cold, 13:28 I did not have warm clothes or warm blankets. 13:31 I was frequently sick. 13:34 The Dorcas Society heard about this skinny boy 13:37 who was freezing in his refrigerator cell 13:41 at Avonjail, 13:43 which is what we call it, Avonjail. 13:46 They made me a warm, thick bed cover 13:49 and secretly delivered it, they delivered it 13:51 when I was out working because I knew 13:54 I didn't want handouts, I'd rather freeze. 13:59 For the first time in a long time 14:01 I was warm at nights. 14:02 And thank God for Dorcas, she gave me a handout. 14:07 I'm all for handouts, I'm not for... 14:10 I'm all for handups, I'm not for handouts. 14:16 God was so impressed with Dorcas, Tabitha, 14:19 that He raised her from the dead, 14:21 didn't do that for too many people. 14:23 Acts 9:40, 41, 14:26 "But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. 14:30 Turning to the body he heard, 'Tabitha, arise.' 14:32 She opened her eyes, when she saw Peter, she sat up. 14:36 Then he gave her his hand, lifted her up, 14:39 and when he called the saints and widows, 14:42 he presented her alive.'" 14:45 She must have been pretty special. 14:48 God is not in the business of going around 14:50 raising people up all the time, 14:51 He'll do that at the resurrection. 14:54 Since then millions have been given a hand up 14:58 by Dorcas societies around the world. 15:02 The gazelle lady was a genuine lady game changer 15:07 and so was Phoebe, 15:11 the ambassador of God to the city of Rome. 15:14 Turn in your Bible, Romans 16:1, 2, Spurgeon said, 15:20 "Weak Christians own Bibles 15:23 and feed on newspapers." 15:27 It say, today, we Christians own Bibles 15:29 and watch television all the time, 15:31 and they've got nothing left between their ears. 15:34 Roman 16:1, 2, "I commend you Phoebe our sister, 15:39 who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, 15:43 that you may receive her in the Lord 15:46 in a manner worthy of the saints, 15:48 and a sister in whatever business 15:51 she has need of you, 15:54 for indeed she has been a helper 15:57 of many and of myself also." 16:02 Now Phoebe came from Corinth, 16:04 or a little town next to current Cenchrea. 16:08 Corinth was one of the most wicked cities 16:09 of the Roman world. 16:11 Phoebe is actually named after the Greek moon goddess. 16:15 It means radiant or bright. 16:19 She was a leader of the church in Cenchrea. 16:23 Oh, a small town a few miles from Corinth, 16:27 she is called in scripture in the Greek 16:31 a diakonon or a deacon, 16:35 also called a prostatis in the Greek. 16:39 It means a benefactor. 16:41 She must have had some money. 16:45 Her church, most likely, was a home church. 16:48 In those days, there were no buildings for churches. 16:51 People say, "This is my church." 16:53 What? 16:55 Your church is made out of concrete? 16:57 Church is made out of people, don't you know that? 17:03 The church most likely was raised up by Paul. 17:08 Now listen to this. 17:10 She was Paul's ambassador to the Romans. 17:15 Rome was a big, wicked, 17:19 and dangerous place. 17:22 It was ruled over by the tyrant, you know who? 17:26 Nero. 17:28 In those days, it was huge, 17:30 being about a million in population. 17:33 Half the children died by five years. 17:36 It is full of violence, social unrest, depravity, 17:40 at least half the people or more were slaves. 17:45 Phoebe travels from Corinth to Rome. 17:50 And that's a long trip. 17:52 And she carries under her robe, 17:57 the Book of Romans. 18:04 Romans was written by Paul in Corinth 18:06 where he probably stayed with Gaius. 18:09 Romans 16:23 says, "Gaius, my host, 18:14 and the host of the whole church, greets you, 18:17 Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, 18:20 and Quartus, a brother." 18:22 He probably stayed with Gaius. 18:26 And she carries Paul's magnum opus. 18:31 And with Romans, 18:34 she carries the future of the church 18:37 and the future of the world. 18:39 A woman does it. 18:43 Romans, which is the most misunderstood 18:48 and least understood book in the Christian Church 18:53 is probably the most important book ever written. 18:57 It shows how the sinner is legally made right with God. 19:01 Romans 1:16, 17, 19:03 "I'm not ashamed of the gospel," 19:04 Paul said, "It is the power of God for salvation 19:07 for everyone who believes, 19:08 for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 19:10 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed 19:14 from faith to faith, as it is written, 19:17 'The just shall live by faith.'" 19:19 We are saved by the righteousness of God. 19:22 What does it mean? 19:24 Coming up soon, I'm going to talk about Paul 19:30 and his book, Romans. 19:32 This book, my American friends and the rest of you, 19:38 started the Protestant Reformation 19:40 that produced the great democracies 19:42 and a mighty wave of freedom 19:44 and prosperity around the world. 19:46 There would have been no America without Paul 19:50 and the Book of Romans, 19:52 and probably no Book of Romans delivered without this lady. 19:58 God entrusted this book to Phoebe. 20:01 It is through her that the church got hold 20:03 of Romans that the British reformer Tyndale 20:06 described as, "Good, glad, and merry tidings 20:11 that makes a man's heart to sing for joy 20:15 and his feet to dance." 20:17 Why are there so many sour people 20:21 who call themselves religious? 20:23 It's because they've got religion 20:25 but they haven't got the gospel. 20:27 And the gospel is good, glad, and merry tidings. 20:30 Phoebe carried it. 20:32 Thank God for Paul. 20:34 Thank God for Phoebe. 20:36 Now, Priscilla and Aquila 20:41 or Prisca. 20:42 Priscilla and Aquila, Priscilla was a woman, 20:45 who with her husband Aquila 20:49 was one of the great leaders of the early Christian church. 20:52 Roman 16:3, 4, 20:55 Paul writes, writing from Corinth, 20:59 these folks are now back in Rome. 21:00 "Great Priscilla and Aquila, 21:02 my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 21:04 who risked their own necks for my life, 21:06 to whom not only I give thanks, 21:09 but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 21:12 Priscilla and Aquila, 21:16 they originally came from Pontus on the Black Sea. 21:21 Aquila was a Jew. 21:24 We're not so sure about his wife, 21:27 probably she was. 21:29 One thing is certain, 21:30 it appears she was the leader. 21:35 In a world dominated by men, one would expect 21:39 her husband's name to come first, 21:42 but not so, my dear friends. 21:47 They are mentioned as a team 21:49 seven times in the New Testament. 21:51 And Priscilla is mentioned 21:53 first five times. 21:57 You read in off the screen. That's not fair. 22:00 The Bible teaches the equality of the sexes. 22:04 And women are liberated by the Gospel of Christ. 22:10 They had been living in wicked old Rome, 22:12 but were forced to leave by the Emperor Claudius. 22:15 Acts 18:1-3, Acts 18, 22:20 "After these things Paul departed 22:22 from Athens, went to Corinth. 22:24 And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, 22:28 who had recently come from Italy 22:30 with his wife Priscilla, 22:31 because Claudius had commanded all the Jews 22:34 to depart from Rome, and he came to them. 22:37 So, because he was of the same trade, 22:39 he stayed with them and worked, 22:41 for by occupation they were tentmakers." 22:46 And so Paul gets with them. 22:50 Paul had been taught a trade. 22:53 They worked together making tents. 22:56 Hard manual work is honorable. 22:59 If a minister can't do the hard, honorable work, 23:02 he's not going to be worth anything as a minister. 23:05 Every Jewish boy was taught a trade. 23:08 Paul, by trade, was a tentmaker. 23:12 As a boy of 16, I was taught how to drive a bulldozer. 23:16 By trade, I'm a bulldozer driver. 23:19 I worked 12 hours a day 23:20 constructing a huge irrigation drain 23:24 that was 60 feet deep. 23:26 Hard, honest, manual work is great preparation 23:30 for the ministry. 23:32 Priscilla and her husband became Christians 23:34 after working with Paul. 23:37 What a man. 23:38 Then they traveled with Paul to Ephesus. 23:42 They were part of his team, special. 23:45 Paul went on to the region of Galatia and Phrygia. 23:48 Priscilla set up home in Ephesus. 23:50 And something of great significance 23:52 and importance occurred. 23:53 Apollos comes to Ephesus, he's a mighty preacher. 23:58 He was a Jew, mighty in the scriptures. 24:01 He didn't know the gospel. 24:02 Acts 18:24-26, "Now certain Jew named Apollos, 24:08 born at Alexandria, an eloquent man 24:10 and mighty in the scriptures came to Ephesus. 24:13 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, 24:16 and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately 24:18 the things of the Lord, 24:20 though he knew only the baptism of John. 24:22 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. 24:25 When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, 24:29 they took him aside and explained to him 24:32 the way of God more accurately. 24:34 He was taught the gospel 24:37 by Priscilla and Aquila. 24:42 You don't have to be ordained by men 24:45 to teach the Word of God. 24:46 Women say, "You know, I just want to preach." 24:49 "Well, go ahead and preach. 24:50 But win souls, you got to win souls. 24:54 You got to build up, not pull down." 24:57 Women can teach, women can win souls. 25:01 Dear old John Wesley, 25:02 he had on one of these evangelistic trips, 25:05 and he heard that his mother was teaching and preaching. 25:09 He got mad and he said, "You got to stop this." 25:11 She said, "No, my boy, 25:13 because God has called me to preach the Word." 25:17 And this woman was called to preach the Word. 25:23 Apollos went on to become one of the greatest preachers 25:26 in the church, it was Priscilla who showed the way. 25:29 She had a church in her own house. 25:33 It says that in 1 Corinthians 16:19, 25:37 says that, 1 Corinthians chapter... 25:39 "The churches of Asia greet you. 25:41 Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, 25:44 with the church that is in their house. 25:49 So they had a church. 25:51 And on one occasion, 25:53 they risked their lives for Paul. 25:54 Maybe it was the riot in Ephesus. 25:58 Often revivals are accompanied by riots. 26:02 If you can't have a revival, you better have a riot. 26:06 In Ephesus, the crowd was out to kill Paul. 26:09 And Priscilla and Aquila saved his life. 26:14 Well, now, they were a special couple, 26:19 Priscilla and Aquila. 26:22 Now, my friends, 26:23 I'm going to skip down a little bit. 26:26 We've studied the lives of some great ladies, 26:29 Eve, yeah, and Sarah, 26:34 and Hatshepsut, 26:36 and Jacobeth, Miriam, Vashti, 26:40 Esther, Ruth, we salute them. 26:43 Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, 26:46 Mary the sister of Martha, 26:48 Tabitha, Phoebe, and Priscilla. 26:53 Listen to me. 26:55 These are history's 26:59 great game changers. 27:02 They are the mighty women, 27:06 and we salute them, and we say, 27:10 "God bless them." 27:12 Everyone, in Jesus name, 27:16 amen. 27:19 Amen. 27:20 Praise God for the ladies. 27:26 Time, it takes only a minute to have eternal life. 27:30 How can you get saved in a minute? 27:32 It's simple. 27:33 First, believe that Jesus was the Son of God. 27:36 Second, accept His free gift of eternal life, 27:39 and then you're saved. 27:41 It's not hard. 27:42 It doesn't take any time. 27:44 You can be saved in a minute right now. 27:47 Pray with me, "Lord God, I realize that I am a sinner. 27:51 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 are saved. 28:01 The next thing to do is, tell someone. 28:04 Fellowship with other followers of Jesus, 28:07 get baptized, read your Bible, and pray. 28:10 Choices, we make them every day, all day. 28:14 The most important choice you'll make in your life 28:17 is whether to choose eternal life 28:19 or let it pass you by. 28:21 If you would like more information 28:22 about your new life, 28:23 call the number and visit our website. 28:29 For a copy of today's program, 28:32 please contact us at P.O. Box 1900, 28:35 Thousand Oaks, California 91358. 28:39 Or in Australia, contact us at P.O. Box 861, 28:44 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:49 This program is made possible 28:50 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:53 We thank you for your continued support. 28:57 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2018-10-15