Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001954S
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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 Join us with questions and answers 00:32 with Pastor John Carter. 00:37 Hello, friend. I'm John Carter. 00:39 Welcome today to the Carter Report. 00:41 This is a continuation of our Q&A segment. 00:46 We've been talking about your great questions, 00:49 and I've been trying to give you 00:50 some good answers. 00:52 Here's the next question. 00:54 What does the Bible say about tattoos? 01:00 I heard a groan from the audience. 01:02 They're the people who've got tattooed. 01:04 What does the Bible say about tattoos? 01:06 Would you come over here to Leviticus 19:26, 01:10 dear hearts and gentle people, 01:12 Leviticus 19:26. 01:21 Is that what I said? 01:23 No, no, it's verse 28, Leviticus 19:28. 01:28 Here it is. 01:30 "You shall not make any cuttings 01:32 in your flesh for the dead, 01:36 nor tattoo, any marks on you, 01:41 I am the Lord." 01:43 So, so much for tattoos. 01:46 Let me tell you a little bit about tattoos. 01:49 Back in the days when these words were written, 01:52 tattooing was something that the pagans did, 01:56 and it was a sign of their pagan gods. 02:01 Later, tattooing became 02:03 a sign of slavery and bondage. 02:08 The masters used to tattoo their slaves. 02:12 And so it doesn't seem to have a lot going for it. 02:16 But let me say this to my friends 02:18 who've got tattoos everywhere. 02:22 This doesn't mean you're going to hell. 02:25 God takes us where He finds us. 02:27 God knows your heart. 02:29 And the Bible tells me I am saved by the grace of God 02:32 because it's just as well 02:33 because if we weren't saved by the grace of God, 02:36 none of us could be saved. 02:37 Next question. 02:39 Does the Bible say how many times 02:40 I should forgive someone 02:42 who continually does wrong to me? 02:46 Text is Matthew 18:22. 02:49 Matthew 18:22, "Jesus said to him, 02:54 'I do not say to you after seven times, 02:57 but up to seventy times seven." 03:00 That means no end do it. 03:03 Jesus said, "Just keep on forgiving 03:06 because you're going to keep on making mistakes too." 03:09 Jesus told the story, you know, story about the two debtors. 03:13 One man owed the Lord $10 billion, 03:16 you know the story, And the Lord, that's Jesus, 03:20 God forgives this person owes him $10 billion, 03:23 huge sum of money. 03:25 And this man who has been redeemed 03:27 with tremendous grace 03:29 has got a tenant working for him, a slave. 03:31 And this man owes him $100, 100 bucks. 03:35 He says, pay me everything. Man says, "I can't. 03:37 Can't, I got no money." 03:39 So he gets him by the throat. He says, "Pay me everything." 03:42 He says, "If you don't pay me everything, 03:44 I'm going to sell you. 03:45 I'm going to have you tortured. 03:46 I'm going to sell your wife, 03:48 I'm going to get rid of your children." 03:51 Now the person who owes the Lord $10 billion, 03:54 it's us. 03:56 We owe that to the Lord. 03:59 And the worst anybody can do to us is about $100. 04:02 And so Jesus said, 04:04 "I've given so much forgiveness to you, 04:06 therefore, your forgiveness to others 04:09 ought to be without limit." 04:12 You've all heard of Corrie ten Boom, haven't you? 04:16 Corrie ten Boom was the beautiful Dutch lady 04:18 who was put in a concentration camp 04:21 by the German Nazis. 04:23 They killed most of her family members. 04:26 And she was allowed to get out of it 04:27 just by the grace of God. 04:29 And she was giving a talk one day in a church 04:32 and talking about grace and forgiveness. 04:35 It's great up the front, grace and forgiveness. 04:38 And after the meeting, a man came to her. 04:40 He said, "You remember me, Corrie? 04:44 That was the Nazi guard. 04:48 Murdered her family, helped to murder. 04:51 He said, "Corrie, is there forgiveness for me?" 04:55 Then he said, "How about a hug, Corrie? 04:58 Hey, what would you do? 05:01 Forgive a Nazi? 05:05 Let me tell you something, 05:10 the grace of God is so great 05:15 that a Christian is called 05:18 to forgive his enemies. 05:23 And that is the mark of a Christian. 05:28 How much do I owe God? Ten billion. 05:31 How much does my enemy owe me? Hundred dollars. 05:35 I hear Christians talking about, 05:36 here's the next one here. 05:38 I hear Christians talking about being born again. 05:42 What does it mean to be born again? 05:43 Come over here to John 3:3 and 5. 05:47 These are the words of our blessed Lord, 05:52 to Nicodemus, the leader, 05:54 one of the leading theologians in the days of Christ, 05:58 "Jesus answered and said to him, 06:01 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, 06:07 he cannot see the kingdom of God." 06:10 Verse 5, "Jesus answered, 06:13 'Most assuredly, I say to you, 06:18 unless one is born again, 06:20 he cannot see the kingdom of God." 06:22 So my, folks, my dear friends, 06:27 we can talk as much as we like. 06:30 And talk, religious talk 06:32 is tremendously cheap, isn't it? 06:34 You know, religious people have got a name 06:36 for talking all the time. 06:39 But Jesus said, that doesn't count a bit. 06:42 You got to be born again. 06:45 When Jesus says, "You got to be born again." 06:48 He's talking about becoming a brand new person. 06:53 Like the Russian prisoner. 06:55 We preach the gospel to millions of Russians. 06:58 Sometimes in the middle of winter. 07:00 A man who's a murderer. 07:02 He comes in and he says, "Lord, I'm sorry." 07:05 And the grace of God gets inside that man 07:07 and he becomes a new person. 07:11 Listen to this. 07:12 Being born again, mean people become kind. 07:17 You know mean people in the church? 07:19 Are mean people, cruel, sarcastic, always talking, 07:23 always criticizing. 07:25 But when they're born again, they're no longer mean. 07:28 They're kind. 07:30 Dishonest people become honest. 07:34 Lying people become truthful, violent people, 07:39 I've seen, baptized lots of violent people. 07:43 We even baptized people in the KGB. 07:45 They'd become peaceful. 07:46 Legalistic people, realistic people in the church. 07:52 By the super, super, super miracle, 07:54 they become loving. 07:56 Lustful people become pure. 08:00 We also had a baptism some years ago, 08:02 we're going back to Manila, as you know, 08:04 for a big campaign by the grace of God. 08:06 That's why we're trying to raise the money for it now. 08:08 We had a baptism in Manila on death row. 08:13 These young Filipinos were assassins, 08:16 they were murderers. 08:18 But through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, 08:20 their lives were marvelously transformed 08:23 by the grace of God. 08:26 Now, a lot of people in the church say, 08:28 "Well, it's the bad people. 08:29 Bad people like them, they've got to be born again." 08:32 But Jesus was talking to a great theologian 08:35 who had religion coming out of his ears. 08:37 Have you met those people? 08:41 Jesus said, "You gotta be born again. 08:45 It's tremendously important being born again, 08:51 as Jesus said." 08:52 Next question, "Once saved, always saved," is it biblical? 08:58 You folks know the story of the sower? 09:01 Jesus said, A sower went forth to sow, 09:05 and when he's sowing, 09:07 he's actually sowing the Word of God 09:10 and the sower goes forth and the first person, 09:13 the seed is on the wayside. 09:15 Hot, as hot as concrete. 09:18 It doesn't go in at all, hard. 09:22 Next person, shallow soil, you know superficial person, 09:26 blah, blah, blah, religion all the time. 09:29 Superficial person, as wide as the Mississippi, 09:34 you know, and this deep. 09:40 So it's very shallow. 09:41 And Jesus said, "Well, that person hears the gospel, 09:44 hallelujah, praise God." 09:48 Jesus said, "When the sun came up, 09:50 they wilted." 09:51 You know why? Too shallow. 09:55 The Word couldn't get down. 09:57 There are lots and lots of shallow people. 10:02 Boy, this is proof of the inspiration of Christ. 10:05 The next group, well, 10:07 the soil is great, it's rich, it's great, it's terrific. 10:11 And the plants come up and so do the weeds. 10:14 You know what the weeds are? 10:16 Love of money. 10:17 Hey, I couldn't go to really... No, no. 10:20 You know what your problem is, you love your money. 10:24 Jesus said, "The cares of this life." 10:26 And the fourth group is the good earth. 10:30 And the seed gets down and it grows and it grows. 10:34 My God help us to be good earth people, 10:36 not shallow people, not thorny people. 10:39 Would you come over here to Luke 8:11, 10:45 and onwards, Luke 8:11 and onwards. 10:49 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God." 10:52 If you don't hear the Word of God, 10:54 you're not getting the seed. 10:55 If you don't read the Bible, you're not getting the seed. 10:58 You're going, just going to shrivel up and die, 11:01 "Those by the wayside are the ones who hear, 11:03 then the devil comes 11:05 and takes away word out of their hearts, 11:07 lest they should believe and be saved." 11:10 Listen, look at me. 11:12 Jesus said, "If you truly believe, 11:14 you are saved." 11:17 Believing is equated to salvation, 11:19 lest they should believe and be saved. 11:22 Verse 13, "But the ones on the rock are those 11:25 who when they hear, receive the word with joy." 11:28 Hallelujah. 11:30 "And these have no root, who believe for a while." 11:35 If they believe for a while, they are saved for a while. 11:40 Doesn't sound like once saved always saved. 11:44 "Lest they should believe 11:46 and be saved." 11:52 And these people, they believe all right, 11:55 when the sun comes up, they stop believing. 11:58 Let me ask you this question. 11:59 Do two people have to stay married? 12:04 Certainly not in America. 12:06 Because, my friend, you don't have to stay married 12:10 because love is based on a choice. 12:16 You can get a divorce anytime you want to. 12:18 May not be right. 12:20 But people are not forced into a relationship. 12:24 Love is based on freedom of will. 12:29 It's the same with Jesus. 12:31 Jesus is not going to force me 12:33 to stay in a relationship with Him. 12:37 And He's given me the capacity of choosing. 12:40 If I didn't have the capacity of choosing, I couldn't love. 12:46 So it's not a case of once saved always saved, 12:49 but it's a case of staying in love with Jesus. 12:55 And the more you get to know Him, 12:58 the more you love Him. 12:59 That's why I say to people over and over again, 13:01 like a crack record, read your Bible every day. 13:05 I can tell you the greatest weakness 13:07 in American Christianity 13:11 and in Australian Christianity, 13:13 but especially American Christianity, 13:15 because there are more Bibles than on anywhere. 13:20 The biggest weakness is that people 13:23 in this part of the world don't read the Word. 13:28 You got to read it every day. 13:30 I read it out loud so it gets into my soul. 13:33 I've been reading it for many years. 13:34 People are, "I'm too busy." 13:35 Okay, well don't expect to be saved. 13:38 The seed has to be sown. 13:41 If you're not sowing the seed, 13:46 you can't expect to be saved. 13:49 I don't believe in once saved always saved. 13:52 I believe in what Moody said. 13:53 "Holding, I am held," 13:55 or was it Spurgeon, I don't know. 13:57 "Holding, I am held." 13:59 Next question. Do pets, animals go to heaven? 14:04 Give me a Bible answer. Oh, that's a tough. 14:09 I can't give you a Bible answer. 14:12 But I can tell you this. And this is a Bible answer. 14:14 God is love. God loves people. 14:18 And I think He loves pets too, because He made them all. 14:22 And heaven is going to be better than we can imagine. 14:26 Don't you believe that? 14:28 And I think, now listen, 14:30 this is just a little speculation for me. 14:33 But I think God is going to make heaven 14:36 so good for His people. 14:39 And if you need to have that beautiful dog, 14:42 I'm sort of thinking, He'll give it to you. 14:46 But don't ask me for a text, okay. 14:48 Next question. 14:50 Well, don't you think that's reasonable? 14:51 I think so. 14:53 You know, I love dogs and horses. 14:57 It seems to me that every day I hear, 15:01 I read or hear about someone committing suicide? 15:06 Tens of thousands in this country. 15:09 What does the Bible say about suicide? 15:11 What about a believer who commit suicide? 15:15 Now suicide classically is murder 15:18 because you're killing yourself. 15:22 But there's such a thing too as mental illness. 15:27 There's a lot of hopelessness 15:29 and pain and depression in society. 15:33 If a person doesn't have a job, and he's sick, 15:37 and maybe he's in pain from cancer, 15:41 don't be too judgmental. 15:43 God is the judge. 15:46 I say to those people, a better day is coming. 15:49 Daniel 7:27. 15:51 Notice it, the Bible says, 15:53 "And the kingdom and the dominion, 15:54 and the greatness of the kingdom 15:56 under the whole heaven shall be given to the people, 15:59 the saints of the Most High. 16:01 His Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom 16:04 and all dominions shall serve and obey Him." 16:06 This old world is going to pass away. 16:09 So hold on, Jesus is coming. 16:13 It's going to get better. 16:16 And don't think the government 16:18 is going to make it better for you. 16:20 It's not going to last. 16:23 Look to Christ. 16:24 Revelation 21:1 says, 16:28 "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth," 16:30 no pain, no sorrow, no cancer, 16:32 "for the first heaven 16:34 and the first earth had passed away, 16:35 and there was no more sea," which causes separation. 16:39 It's going to be so much better. 16:43 So hold on. 16:44 I've read the back of the book. 16:47 And we win. 16:48 Listen, God loves people. 16:52 God is not a Pharisee. 16:57 He understands. 16:59 Christ died for all, we don't have all the answers 17:03 and we should not think we have all the answers. 17:08 We shouldn't play the Pharisee. 17:10 We need to trust in Jesus, recognizing that some people 17:16 have taken their lives 17:18 because of mental illness 17:21 who were overwhelmed with a sorrow 17:25 that you and I can never fathom. 17:28 So with that one, my friend, let's not play the judge. 17:32 God is the judge. 17:34 Look at Revelation 21:4. 17:38 "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, 17:41 there shall be no more death, no sorrow, nor crying. 17:45 There shall be no more pain, 17:46 for the former things have passed away." 17:48 I say to people who are hurting, 17:50 who are in pain. 17:51 I meet people who are hurting 17:53 and who are in pain all the time. 17:56 When you go to the hospital 17:57 like I had to go to, there you see, 17:59 I don't see those things too often, 18:01 there you see people in real pain groaning. 18:05 But God is going to wipe it all away. 18:08 We look forward to a perfect world 18:10 where the redeemed people saved by grace. 18:13 Next question. 18:15 Are all sins as bad as each other? 18:20 Lot of people will say, of course, every sin is bad. 18:22 No, we're not saying that. 18:23 The question is, are all sins as bad as each other? 18:27 Luke 12:47 and 48, I think gives the answer. 18:31 Luke 12:47. 18:34 And you can send me your questions. 18:36 We'll put up the address on the screen now 18:40 and I will try to answer your question 18:42 as we're looking up the text here. 18:44 Luke 12:47 and 48. 18:47 This is talking about the judgment. 18:50 "And that servant who knew his masters will 18:53 and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, 18:57 shall be beaten with many stripes." 19:00 So some people are going to get many stripes. 19:04 "But he who did not know 19:05 yet committed things deserving of stripes, 19:08 shall be beaten with few. 19:12 For everyone to whom much is given, 19:14 from him much will be required 19:16 and to whom much has been committed, of him 19:19 they will ask the more." 19:21 So in the judgment 19:22 there's an allocation of penalties 19:25 and some strong and some are weaker. 19:30 That is because 19:31 there are different degrees of guilt. 19:35 All sin is bad, but some sins are of greater wickedness. 19:40 You know that. 19:42 It's common sense. 19:44 The worst sin is probably the sin in the church 19:46 that's self righteousness. 19:48 But remember, no sin is too bad for God, 19:51 if we confess it. 19:52 Our big problem is we're too proud 19:54 to confess our sins. 19:55 Look at Isaiah 55:6 and 7, Isaiah 55:6 and 7, 20:00 "Seek the Lord while He may be found, 20:02 call upon Him while He is near. 20:04 Let the wicked forsake his way. 20:06 And the unrighteous man his thoughts, 20:08 let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him. 20:13 And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon." 20:16 Every sin will be forgiven 20:20 if we come as penitent sinners, 20:24 crying to God for mercy. 20:29 But that's the tough part. 20:30 Most of us are too proud. 20:32 Are all people of equal worth? 20:35 That's an awful, oh no, it's a good question. 20:38 Are all people of equal worth? 20:41 Does God have His favorites? 20:44 Galatians 3:28 is the best text, 20:49 I think on this subject. 20:52 Galatians 3:28. 20:59 I like to tell people this 21:01 because some people know so little about truth 21:06 that they think that Jesus was an Anglo. 21:10 Galatians 3:28. 21:12 And so when Jesus is pictured, He's got blond hair, 21:17 and He's got blue eyes. 21:19 Most unlikely. 21:21 Jesus came from the Middle East. 21:24 Jesus was a Semite. 21:27 I'm not a Semite, I'm an Anglo Saxon. 21:31 But Jesus was a Jew. 21:36 God's gotta... 21:37 And in Jesus was combined every person. 21:42 Galatians 3:28. 21:44 There is neither Jew nor Greek. 21:47 When it says Greek, it means Gentile. 21:50 Doesn't matter where you come from. 21:51 There's neither Jew nor Greek. 21:53 That's why white supremacy 21:55 or even black supremacy 21:57 as is practiced in some parts of the world. 22:00 That's why all of these supremacies 22:02 are an abomination to God. 22:05 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, 22:07 there is neither slave nor free, 22:09 there is neither male nor female, 22:12 for you are all one in Christ Jesus." 22:17 Listen to me. 22:19 This is tremendously important. 22:20 I've had the privilege 22:22 of preaching the gospel in Africa, 22:25 and Russia, and Ukraine, 22:28 Latin America, and the United States, 22:31 and Australia, and the islands of the Sea. 22:34 And also in China, and in India. 22:38 I won't go any further or else I'll tell you too much. 22:41 I want to tell you this. 22:42 It is not your color or your racial background. 22:48 That doesn't count. 22:49 What counts is who has your heart. 22:54 And if you believe in Christ, 22:56 the Bible says it doesn't matter 22:58 whether you're black or brown or pink or green. 23:02 It doesn't matter. 23:03 If you belong to Christ, you're a child of the kingdom. 23:09 You're saved. 23:11 So racism is abhorrent to God. 23:14 It stinks in the nostrils of Almighty God. 23:19 A racist cannot be a Christian, you see. 23:23 So one day Jesus is going to come. 23:27 He's going to take His people home to glory 23:29 and what a tremendous family 23:32 He is going to have in the kingdom of God. 23:36 I want you to know this, God is a very big God. 23:41 And God has a very big family. 23:48 We want to thank you today for sending me your questions. 23:52 Keep sending me your questions. 23:54 I'll try to answer them as I get opportunity. 23:57 But you are a wonderful audience 23:59 and until next time, thank you for tuning our way. 24:03 And may God richly bless you. 24:06 Bye for now. 24:13 You can now find the Carter Report anywhere, 24:17 anytime on any Android or Apple device. 24:21 Use your cell phone, tablet, computer 24:26 or TV to access the many inspirational messages 24:30 from Pastor Carter 24/7. 24:33 For Apple users, go to the App Store. 24:36 For Android users, go to Google Play 24:39 and download the free Carter Report app. 24:44 The Carter Report also has an official YouTube 24:48 and Vimeo channel. 24:49 Search for the Carter Report 24:51 and find the topic that speaks to you. 24:53 Roku users, simply search for the Carter Report 24:56 and download the app free. 24:59 The same on Amazon Fire. 25:01 For Apple TV, visit the App Store 25:03 and download the app. 25:05 Reach out to the Carter Report and experience the hope, 25:09 faith and love of Jesus Christ. 25:15 God has blessed us all. 25:18 Those blessings can be passed down 25:20 to our families and to the family of Christ. 25:24 A monetary gift from your state 25:26 can be given to support 25:28 the tremendous work of the Carter Report. 25:31 Your gift delivers hope to those waiting 25:34 to hear the Word of God 25:36 and changes lives all over the world. 25:40 Vehicles of all kinds, boats and property 25:46 can be transformed to support the schools, 25:49 orphanages, churches, and television programs 25:53 of the Carter Report. 25:55 If this is your wish, 25:57 or if you have questions, please contact us. 26:01 You can call the number on the screen or write to us. 26:05 Thank you for making us a part of your legacy. 26:17 In this series, John Carter will provide 26:19 the answers to life's most interesting questions. 26:22 Seven great signs of the apocalypse. 26:26 If the dead are unconscious, 26:28 who are the beings that pretend to be the dead? 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It doesn't take any time. 27:37 You can be saved in a minute right now. 27:40 Pray with me, Lord God, I realize that I am a sinner. 27:44 My sin has separated me from You. 27:46 I accept that Your Son Jesus Christ died for me. 27:49 I ask Jesus into my heart. 27:51 If you prayed this prayer, you're saved. 27:54 The next thing to do is tell someone, 27:57 fellowship with other followers of Jesus. 28:00 Get baptized. 28:01 Read your Bible and pray. 28:03 Choices. 28:05 We make them every day, all day. 28:07 The most important choice you will make in your life 28:10 is whether to choose eternal life 28:12 or let it pass you by. 28:13 If you'd like more information about your new life, 28:16 call the number and visit our website. 28:22 For a copy of today's program, please contact us at 28:25 P.O. Box 1900, Thousand Oaks, 28:28 California 91358. 28:32 Or in Australia, contact us at 28:34 P.O. 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Revised 2020-04-14