Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001921A
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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. 00:24 From El Salvador. 00:26 I'm John Carter in Sydney, Australia. 00:29 Pastor Carter ponders If This Were My Last Sermon. 00:36 I just want to welcome you here today, 00:39 the audience in the studio, 00:41 and especially the audience 00:42 across the United States of America 00:44 and around the world. 00:47 We thank you for joining the Carter Report today. 00:51 If this were my last sermon, if it were, 00:56 what would I... what would I say? 01:00 I would say those things 01:01 that are the most important to me personally. 01:05 I wouldn't talk about trivia. 01:07 I'd talk about things that were very important. 01:11 So the topic today is 01:12 If This Were My Last Sermon, 01:15 what would I say? 01:18 Of course, 01:20 this could be my last sermon, couldn't it? 01:23 It could be 01:24 because of the uncertainty of life. 01:28 None of us know when we're going to die. 01:31 This is true. 01:33 There's a text in the Bible, and I want you to notice it. 01:36 Matthew 24:44, 01:39 Matthew 24:44. 01:43 Jesus said, "Therefore, you also be ready, 01:48 for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." 01:53 Now this, of course, 01:54 as you know is referring to the Second Coming of Christ, 01:58 but listen carefully to this. 02:02 In reality, as far as I'm concerned, 02:06 the Second Coming 02:08 is no farther removed than what? 02:12 Than my death. 02:14 Because once I die, I fall asleep, 02:17 and the next thing I know will be return of Christ. 02:23 So in such an hour, as you think not, 02:27 in an hour, you do not expect. 02:32 I happen to live in a very nice place. 02:34 I live in Thousand Oaks, Southern California. 02:37 We said it was about the safest place 02:39 in the world, 02:40 until a gunman and an enraged white man 02:43 with a chip on his shoulder 02:46 walked into this bar, 02:49 where they were dancing, 02:51 square dancing, 02:53 lots of young people 02:54 were celebrating their graduation. 02:58 He shot to death 12 young people. 03:02 Then a policeman ran towards the fire. 03:06 He was shot down too. 03:09 So when I walk around Thousand Oaks now, 03:12 I'm not quite as secure as I used to be. 03:17 The policeman who died in the line of duty 03:20 came from Moorpark, 03:22 where our studio is. 03:26 Recently, 03:28 a highway patrol officer came to see us 03:31 at the Carter Report office. 03:35 I felt impressed to talk to him. 03:37 He said, "You know, I live a number 03:40 of miles from Moorpark." 03:41 He said, "I live in an area in Southern California 03:45 where there are gangs." 03:49 He said, "Every morning when I leave my family, 03:54 I kiss them, and I hug them, 03:57 and I pray with them 03:59 because I might never see them again." 04:04 So you and I really do not know 04:08 in such an hour as you think not. 04:11 And then, of course, there were the people 04:13 who got on the new Boeing 737 MAX. 04:20 I'm a great fan of the Boeing Company, 04:24 but at least I used to be 04:29 because there was this computer thing. 04:31 They didn't take time to sort out... 04:36 and they're superjet. 04:39 They said it's the safest plane in the world, 04:42 flying faster than it should have been flying, 04:44 straight into the ground, into the sea. 04:48 Killed around 350 people. 04:52 As that plane went down, 04:54 they would have been unconscious. 04:58 They had a minute or two to get ready. 05:01 That's how it happens to people. 05:04 We don't like to think about these things, 05:06 but it is true. 05:08 Life is uncertain, 05:10 but death is certain. 05:13 I am now 05:15 almost an old man. 05:21 I've been preaching without a break 05:23 for almost 60 years. 05:26 Who can... 05:28 Who's gonna say they've been doing that? 05:32 I saw the first Russian Sputnik in the night sky 05:37 above Avondale College in my first year, 05:41 a boy from the bush. 05:42 I saw it wobble across the sky. 05:48 So I've been preaching now for a long time. 05:50 So this could be my last sermon. 05:53 And if this were my last sermon, 05:56 what would I say to you? 06:01 I'd say this firstly, 06:03 there is a Creator God, 06:06 and He's very good, and He's very kind. 06:09 I wouldn't try to give you a scientific proof. 06:11 I've given you so much stuff on the anthropic principle. 06:15 I'd say, if you haven't got it now, 06:18 I'm not going to try to convince you 06:22 because most people believe what? 06:25 What they want to believe. 06:28 And because of the weight of evidence, 06:30 I choose to believe in God, not because of blind faith. 06:34 Look at John 3, would you, please? 06:37 And verse 16. 06:38 John 3:16, you know it all by heart. 06:41 "For God so loved the world, 06:44 He gave His only begotten Son. 06:47 Whoever believes in Him," should say shall not perish, 06:51 not should not perish, 06:52 "shall not perish, but have everlasting life." 06:56 So the Bible tells me 06:59 that God is very, very, very good. 07:01 When I was a boy growing up in Brisbane, Australia, 07:05 I used to listen to the top songs, 07:07 one of the top songs sung by Eddie Fisher. 07:11 Does anybody ever remember Eddie Fisher? 07:14 Yes. Oh, goodness. 07:15 You must be old. 07:18 Eddie Fisher sang this song. 07:20 Oh, my pa-pa, 07:23 to me he was so wonderful 07:25 Oh, my pa-pa, 07:28 to me he was so good 07:30 No one could be so gentle and so lovable 07:33 Oh, my pa-pa, 07:35 he always understood 07:37 Now this is an old German song. 07:38 Would you believe it? 07:40 He's singing about an old German father 07:42 who was also a clown in the circus. 07:46 Gone are the days 07:47 when he would take me on his knee 07:49 And with a smile, 07:50 he'd change my tears to laughter 07:53 Oh, my pa-pa, 07:54 so funny, so adorable 07:56 Always the clown, so funny in his ways 08:01 Oh, my pa-pa, to me he was so wonderful 08:03 Deep in my heart, 08:05 I miss him so today 08:08 That pa-pa was a dim reflection 08:13 of our Heavenly Father. 08:16 And you have been loved from the very beginning. 08:19 I would tell you, 08:21 you have a pa-pa who loves you. 08:25 I will also tell you if this were my last sermon, 08:29 I tell you this, 08:30 family and friends are also very important. 08:35 Human relationships, tremendously important. 08:39 Turn with me to Ephesians 3:14-15. 08:43 Would you, please? 08:45 Ephesians 3. 08:48 We're going to look at verse 14 and 15. 08:54 "For this reason, 08:57 I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 09:01 from whom the whole family 09:05 in heaven and earth is named." 09:08 The Bible talks about a great family of God's people. 09:15 The farewells we often sing behold Him, 09:18 blessed be the tie that binds. 09:22 I would tell my loved ones, 09:24 I'd say this to them, 09:26 "I really love you." 09:29 I would tell my wife, 09:31 "I love you, thank you." 09:33 I'd tell my son, my daughters, "I love you." 09:38 Some of my family, 09:39 my immediate family got together recently 09:41 at Pismo Beach. 09:43 This is my beautiful daughter, Leanne, 09:45 who is a psychiatrist in San Francisco, 09:48 who works for abused children. 09:50 I'm proud of her. 09:52 This is Beverley 09:54 who's put up with me for a long time. 09:58 My daughter, Julie, 10:00 who's an intensive care nurse, 10:02 who is married to Keith, 10:04 who was a colonel in the US Army 10:07 and an anesthesiologist. 10:09 Good guy. 10:10 He is David, my television producer, 10:14 been working with me and for me 10:17 for more than a quarter century. 10:21 So I would say to my family, 10:25 I love you, and thank you. 10:29 I would say, with family, there should be no harsh words. 10:34 Let me tell you something else, 10:36 and no lawsuits. 10:40 My American friends, 10:44 we have nothing to be proud of 10:48 when we are the most litigious people 10:51 on the face of the planet. 10:54 It is a shame and a disgrace. 11:00 It shows a deep-seated cancer, 11:07 it's called greed. 11:11 I hear of people who just live to sue others. 11:16 They're always carrying out lawsuits. 11:18 They have smart attorneys, 11:21 who are experts at telling lies. 11:25 They're carrying out lawsuits. 11:28 I've been sued. 11:30 Because of my work, I've been sued. 11:32 People said, "Well, we're going to take him down." 11:35 God took them down. 11:38 But I would never, never sue a person. 11:40 They said, "No, you don't know. 11:41 Sometimes, you've got to come out." 11:43 No, no, no, I have a greater weapon. 11:45 You know what I do? 11:48 If a person wants to sue me 11:51 or take me down, 11:55 I have a special ceremony with a group of people, 12:00 and I'd put that person in the hands of God, 12:05 the judge of the whole earth. 12:07 Amen. 12:09 And what has happened? 12:11 I've seen attorneys go to prison. 12:15 I've seen people 12:17 who've been trying to take me down 12:18 and destroy the ministry. 12:19 I've seen them laid aside by the cold hand of death. 12:27 I don't need an attorney to defend me. 12:32 And it is a shame and a disgrace 12:36 when families get so bitter 12:38 and so greedy that they sue each other, 12:43 and in the church. 12:46 I won't do it. 12:47 It's a sin. 12:49 Turn to 1 Corinthians 6:6-7, 12:53 1 Corinthians 6:6-7. 12:56 "But brother goes to law against brother," 12:59 in the church, in the family, "and that before unbelievers! 13:03 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure 13:06 for you that you go to law against one another. 13:09 Why do you not rather accept wrong?" 13:14 Why not lose? 13:16 "No, no, I can't," that's because of pride, 13:19 and greed, and sin. 13:21 "Why do you not rather accept wrong? 13:24 Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?" 13:28 I would rather be cheated... 13:34 than go to law against my brother. 13:38 You see, that's completely opposed to our spirit. 13:42 If that is so, then our spirit is wrong. 13:45 It's of the devil. 13:49 Something terribly wrong with a nation 13:51 that has more attorneys 13:53 than the rest of the world put together. 13:55 1 Timothy 6:8-10. 13:59 Paul says, "And having food and clothing, 14:02 with these we shall be content. 14:04 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation 14:08 and a snare, 14:09 and into many foolish and harmful lusts, 14:12 which drown men in destruction and perdition. 14:15 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, 14:20 for which some have strayed 14:22 from the faith in their greediness, 14:26 and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 14:29 The love of money is a cancer. 14:35 You cannot love money 14:38 and go to heaven. 14:42 Saying, "No, no," that's what Jesus said. 14:46 Jesus said, "You can't love money 14:48 and go to heaven." 14:49 People will say, "Well, that's not right." 14:50 Well, I'm sorry. 14:52 I'm just gonna give it to you from the scriptures. 14:55 Therefore, no taking advantage for financial gain, 14:59 no bad feelings. 15:00 I would say if this were my sermon, 15:03 if I were your pastor in your church, 15:06 I'd say, make that phone call. 15:11 Reach out. 15:14 Here's a little poem my mother gave to me 15:16 when I was a young man. 15:18 It took me years to appreciate it. 15:22 "Not Understood" by Thomas Bracken. 15:24 Not understood, we move along asunder 15:28 Our paths grow wider as the seasons creep 15:31 Along the years, we Marvel and we wonder 15:35 Why life is life, 15:38 and then we fall asleep 15:40 Not understood 15:42 Not understood, we gather false impressions 15:45 And hug them closer as the years go by 15:50 Till virtues often seem to us transgressions 15:53 And thus men rise and fall, and live and die 15:57 Not understood 16:00 Not understood! 16:01 How trifles often change us 16:03 The thoughtless sentence and the fancied slight 16:07 Destroy long years of friendship and estrange us 16:12 And on our souls, there falls a freezing blight 16:16 Not understood 16:18 O God! 16:20 That men would see a little clearer 16:22 Or judge less harsh where they cannot see 16:25 O God! 16:26 That men would draw a little nearer 16:28 To one another, they'd be near Thee 16:31 And understood 16:33 Can you think about this? 16:36 Can we think about loving each other 16:39 and stop employing all of these attorneys 16:43 so that we can make a fast buck? 16:46 What about Christ? 16:49 These folks are my heroes. 16:52 This is the Carter Report team. 16:54 This is my mother over here. 16:57 And my dad was an arch Roman Catholic 17:00 before he came to one of my meetings. 17:02 This is me down here with Beverley, 17:04 and we were just out on the ministry. 17:06 That's my grandfather right in the back there. 17:09 But here's the team. 17:11 Here's my son, David, 17:13 my producer for a quarter of a century. 17:17 MK Terrence who's working with Walt and Chuck. 17:20 Beverley who stood with me through thick and thin. 17:23 Tom and Jacob. 17:26 And he's Angelo who does my mail-outs. 17:30 And Shibito looks after my books. 17:33 Then there's Sherry, and Javier, and Susie. 17:36 Susie has been with us for 25 years. 17:40 She said it seems like 100. 17:45 Listen... 17:49 we have a very sweet team. 17:52 We got no bad feeling. 17:56 And we try to help each other. 17:59 And we try to be generous. 18:04 There's nothing I despise more 18:08 than a mean selfish person. 18:11 Sorry, that's just how I feel about it. 18:14 If you knew Jesus, 18:16 He'd be very generous, kind person. 18:22 Another truth I'd want to say to you 18:23 if this were my last sermon, 18:25 if it were, 18:26 there is life after death for all of God's children. 18:31 So many of my old dear friends are sleeping in Christ. 18:35 I am one of the last. 18:40 My mother who taught me to pray, 18:43 prayed with me every morning before I went to school. 18:48 My father, brought up as an altar boy 18:51 in the great Roman Catholic Church, 18:54 who came to one of my meetings and found Christ in the gospel. 18:58 My mother is an old, old lady, 19:02 she lived in '97. 19:06 I want you to see, 19:07 I made some friends 19:09 who touched my life in a special way. 19:12 Ed and Joy Totenhofer. 19:14 Straight out of college, more than 50 years ago, 19:18 Beverley and I, as I said in Australia, 19:20 wet behind the ears. 19:23 We went to a town in the outback of Australia 19:26 by the name of Broken Hill, this mining town, 19:30 silver, lead, zinc. 19:33 The Totenhofers, Ed and Joy, they were our mentors, 19:38 and our friends, and they loved us. 19:42 Let me tell you something about all of my friends, 19:44 my close friends. 19:47 We hate lies. 19:50 Didn't say we hate liars, but we hate lies, 19:55 and dishonesty, and greed, and fraud, 19:59 and hypocrisy, hated all. 20:04 These people did not know how to tell a lie 20:09 and they taught us 20:12 how to preach the Word. 20:14 They're sleeping. 20:18 Tom Ludowici. 20:20 Tom. 20:22 Tom took an interest in me 20:23 when I was 17 at Avondale College, 20:27 and Tom explained to me the gospel of Christ. 20:32 He loved me, and he cared for me. 20:35 I'm here today because of my old buddy, 20:40 Dr. Tom Ludowici. 20:44 See you soon, Tom. 20:47 Graeme Bradford, 20:50 one of the great scholars in the church. 20:55 Died of cancer, melanoma, no fault of his own. 20:58 Australian, so much sun. 21:03 Got a little thing on his arm. 21:05 The doctor messed up, 21:07 doctors don't mess up. 21:09 Hey, doc. 21:11 Oh, they're perfect, aren't they? 21:13 Same as you and me, they're sinners, 21:15 needing grace. 21:17 Just put a knife in and said nothing. 21:21 Come back. 21:22 When he came back, full-blown melanoma. 21:26 Took three years to die. 21:29 A hero, a theologian, a Christian gentleman, 21:33 I miss our weekly phone calls 21:36 when we talked theology. 21:38 I got nobody left now to talk theology to. 21:41 You say, "No, no, no, no." 21:43 No, it's not. 21:47 I miss Graeme. 21:49 Then there was George Burnside. 21:52 Beverley and I worked with... 21:53 We had no children in those days. 21:55 We worked with this great Australian evangelist 21:59 in a town by the name 22:00 of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. 22:05 And with the Totenhofers, 22:07 he taught me everything I know 22:10 about preaching the gospel and evangelism. 22:13 I've never met an evangelist 22:16 as powerful as this man. 22:20 A young man came to me during the campaign, 22:23 we called those campaigns missions. 22:25 Hell, I despise the term effort. 22:28 People say, we're running an effort. 22:31 It's like they're giving birth to barbed wire. 22:35 It's an effort. 22:37 Don't they know anything about the grace of God? 22:39 "Oh, we're running an effort." 22:41 It's disgusting. 22:43 We called campaigns missions. 22:47 Still do, running our mission. 22:51 One guy, worldly lost young man, 22:56 blasphemer, 22:57 after Pastor Burnside had preached for an hour, 23:00 he said, "Why does he have to stop?" 23:04 Pastor Burnside would have a little pause and say, 23:07 "I'm going to start again, go for another hour." 23:09 He'd say, "Why does he have to stop?" 23:14 He was a preacher. 23:16 He was a man of God. 23:18 In Australia, they say, there are three sexes, 23:21 men, women, and clergymen. 23:25 A clergyman in the eyes of most Australians 23:28 is something between a man and a woman. 23:31 But this man was no clergyman. 23:35 He was a man of God. 23:38 He could preach. 23:39 I was terrified of him. 23:43 Robert Parr, president of conference, 23:48 great city of Sydney. 23:49 Robert Parr was the person 23:52 who made possible 23:53 the Sydney Opera House campaign. 23:56 Listen, skeptic, 23:59 'cause I meet tons of skeptics, 24:03 and you don't impress me. 24:06 I feel sorry for you. 24:08 A skeptic said to Robert Parr, 24:10 they said to me, "It won't work. 24:12 It's impossible. 24:13 Nobody's ever done it before. 24:14 The days of public evangelism are over. 24:17 Don't you know?" 24:18 Goodness me, they're pathetic, aren't they? 24:23 Mine eyes have seen the glory. 24:24 I've seen the glory 24:26 of the coming of the Lord in Russia, 24:27 where we had millions of people attend the meetings, 24:30 atheists, unbelievers, oh, no, get converted, 24:34 I say to the unbelievers. 24:37 The record that was set at the Sydney Opera House, 24:41 back in the 1980s, has never ever been broken. 24:46 The greatest crowds attended the Sydney Opera House 24:52 for the preaching of the gospel. 24:55 Wouldn't have happened without Bob Parr. 24:59 Then there were my Avondale teachers, 25:02 so many of them. 25:04 There's a beautiful old Avondale chapel 25:06 built by the early Americans. 25:08 We went out there. 25:10 So many of them. 25:11 They taught me that Christ was good 25:14 and God was loving. 25:15 I would not be here today 25:17 except for my Avondale teachers. 25:22 They're all sleeping alone. 25:25 And then, Norm Matiko, my Canadian manager 25:28 for my great campaigns in Russia and Ukraine, 25:33 where we saw the glory of God. 25:38 They're all sleeping. 25:41 I'm thankful to God and to them. 25:45 And I would say to you today, 25:47 there's coming a Resurrection Day. 25:50 And I say, rest in peace, 25:54 rise in glory. 25:57 I will see them all again. 26:03 More amazing truths to come, very soon. 26:06 Stay with us. 26:23 Hello, friend. 26:24 I'm John Carter. 26:26 Behind me is the great city of Manila, 26:29 the capital of the Philippines. 26:32 Did you know, this is quite amazing, 26:33 there are more people living in this area 26:36 than in New York City? 26:38 And Christ died for these people. 26:40 We came here, 26:42 oh, a long time ago back in 1984, 26:46 what's that, 34-35 years ago, 26:49 and we came here with a team of young people, 26:52 and we came to the PICC. 26:55 It is our intent to come here, 26:57 hire the biggest hall that's available, 26:59 the greatest outdoor stadium, whatever it takes. 27:04 You've got more than 20 million souls out here. 27:09 And I say it again. 27:10 These are people for whom Christ died. 27:13 I'm asking you to pray 27:14 for the people of the Philippines. 27:16 Please pray for the people here in Metro Manila. 27:20 And please write to me, John Carter, 27:23 Post Office Box 1900, 27:25 Thousand Oaks, California, 91358. 27:28 In Australia, write to me at Terrigal 27:31 at the address that is now showing on the screen. 27:36 We're back in Manila, 27:38 and we're back with a message from God. 27:41 That message is Christ died for you. 27:46 And Christ is coming again soon. 27:52 Please support us. 27:53 Write to me today, Post Office Box 1900, 27:56 Thousand Oaks, California, 27:58 and also write to me at Terrigal in Australia. 28:02 Thank you for your support. 28:04 And God bless you. 28:22 For a copy of today's program, 28:24 please contact us at PO Box 1900, 28:27 Thousand Oaks, California, 91358. 28:31 Or in Australia, contact us at PO Box 861, 28:37 Terrigal, New South Wales, 2260. 28:41 This program is made possible 28:43 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:46 We thank you for your continued support. 28:49 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2019-07-05