Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR002003S
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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. 00:30 Now, here's John Carter with today's message. 00:37 Hello, friend, I'm John Carter. 00:39 Welcome today to the Carter Report. 00:42 We're going to talk about Fred Rogers. 00:45 The Gospel According to Fred Rogers, 00:49 and how you and I can have a beautiful day 00:52 in the neighborhood. 00:55 Now, if you look around 00:56 this studio today in Southern California, 00:59 I'm the only person here 01:01 because we're in a state of emergency. 01:04 And this is a lockdown time. 01:06 Got four cameras here. 01:09 No camera people, nobody on the sound system. 01:13 Even the pictures 01:14 that are coming on this big video wall 01:17 are coming from about 50-60 miles away, 01:21 coming through the air. 01:23 One or two folks upstairs in secure places. 01:27 But this is an emergency because we are in the midst 01:32 of the coronavirus pandemic. 01:35 I'm going to talk to you today about the gospel 01:38 according to Fred. 01:40 I just got back from Australia. 01:44 I was on my way to Manila. 01:46 But Manila closed down. 01:48 So I had to turn around, 01:50 come back and come back to America. 01:53 And as I was flying back to America, 01:56 I finally worked out how I could turn on 01:58 the television entertainment system. 02:01 I'm not real good at that stuff, folk. 02:03 Sorry to tell you that. 02:06 But I worked out, you know, where you put in the earphones, 02:09 I found it hard to find the spot on the Dreamliner, 02:12 which is a great plane. 02:13 But in the end, I got a going. 02:16 And I watched a terrific movie. 02:18 I watched this tremendous movie about Fred Rogers. 02:23 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood 02:28 with Tom Hanks. 02:31 Tom does such a fantastic job. 02:33 Now, he is a tremendous actor. 02:36 And he shines even, shines even with more luster 02:40 when he represents an extra part of Fred Rogers. 02:45 Just a little bit of information. 02:48 Tom Hanks and his wife 02:50 when they were staying in Australia, 02:51 they caught this coronavirus. 02:55 And Tom and his wife put this up on their web page, 02:59 or Facebook, or somewhere. 03:01 You know, they're just a great couple. 03:04 And they went into one 03:05 or Australia's great hospitals on the Gold Coast. 03:09 And Tom put this up Vegemite. 03:13 And he had some bread there, slathered in this Vegemite. 03:17 And people wrote into him and they said, 03:19 "Tom, we're glad you like the Australian Vegemite. 03:21 But you don't put it on half an inch thick, 03:24 you know, too much spoils of flavor." 03:28 But we're glad to say that Tom has been able to get back 03:30 to this United States. 03:32 And Tom and his wife are recovering. 03:34 And we all love Tom. 03:37 And we love the movie, 03:39 A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. 03:43 Now, folks, before we go any farther today, 03:46 we're going to have a prayer. 03:48 This is prayer time. 03:50 If you've got requests for prayer, 03:52 please write to me, John Carter. 03:54 I will pray for you. 03:57 But I've got some requests for prayer here today. 04:00 And I'm going to read out 04:01 some of these requests for prayer. 04:03 These are mainly for doctors 04:05 and nurses who are on the front lines. 04:08 Dr. Mark Judd here in Southern California, 04:11 Dr. Greg Hammond over there in the great land of Australia. 04:16 Now, before we go any farther, 04:18 I'm going to bring you up-to-date 04:19 on the fatality rates. 04:23 This is the latest that I can get today. 04:26 In America, well over 300,000, just a few thousand recently. 04:31 More than 8,000 have died. 04:34 In Spain, 11,000 people have died. 04:38 In Italy, more than 15,000 people have died. 04:42 We're in the midst of a tremendous battle. 04:46 And I think it's going to get worse 04:48 before it gets better. 04:50 And we need to call upon the Lord in prayer. 04:53 I want you to pray with me. 04:55 But I want to read out these names. 04:57 Dr. Mark Judd on the front line, 04:59 Dr. Greg Hammond, 05:01 great person over there in Australia, 05:06 Mae Julie and her husband Keith in San Francisco 05:10 fighting this terrible virus. 05:13 Then, in North Carolina, 05:16 a very beautiful lady, Mrs. Beagle, 05:20 the mother of our Donn Beagle 05:22 who is just a wonderful member of the Carter Report team. 05:26 We just couldn't do anything I think without the help 05:29 of this great American hero. 05:32 So we're going to pray for Mrs. Beagle. 05:34 Duke University Medical Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 05:38 for the people there. 05:40 The team at Seqirus, 05:42 they're trying to make vaccines, 05:44 North Carolina. 05:46 Oh, God, help us to get a vaccine soon. 05:49 Dr. Angela Shed, Dr. Justin Derek, 05:53 that great Texas dentist who's seeing patients 05:57 who've got tremendous needs. 06:00 Dr. Victor Cober, 06:02 the ICU doctor in COVID-19 unit in the state of Michigan. 06:06 Oh, Detroit, my friend, 06:09 needs our prayers, pray for Detroit. 06:12 Dr. Eric Caracas, Long Beach, California. 06:16 Dr. Dan T. Burgess from Dallas. 06:20 Dr. Robert Burgess from Burleson. 06:23 I think that's Texas. 06:25 Valerie Cober in UCLA, 06:28 University of California, Los Angeles, 06:31 Dr. Javier Piraino from Philadelphia. 06:34 He is the son of Javier and Susie Piraino, 06:37 who are wonderful team members of the Carter Report. 06:40 The hospital staff, 06:42 the whole hospital staff at Kaiser, 06:44 downtown San Francisco, pray for these people. 06:48 The President of the United States, 06:50 his team, the governors and the mayors. 06:53 This is a time, my friend, delay or aside our differences 06:56 and let us pray to the God of heaven. 06:59 The hotspots in the United States. 07:01 Pray for the great city of New York. 07:04 Pray for the Big Apple. Pray for New Orleans. 07:07 New Orleans, facing a tremendous crisis. 07:12 Pray for that place. 07:14 Pray for Detroit, the great place 07:17 where the cars have been made for many years. 07:20 Pray for the people in nursing homes, 07:22 in the retirement homes and villages. 07:25 Pray for Dr. Fauci. 07:28 You see him up there with the President. 07:30 This remarkable doctor, 07:32 did you know that his life has been threatened? 07:36 How amazing at this time of crisis, 07:40 he's been given a security detail. 07:44 We ought to pray for this great doctor. 07:47 And you can send your requests for prayer to me. 07:50 You can do it and I promise you, 07:52 I will pray for them. 07:53 And here are doctors from one family. 07:56 The person who is putting up 07:57 the pictures today in the screen 08:00 from 50 or 60 miles away is Terence Yang. 08:05 He's got 18 doctors in his family. 08:09 Can you believe this? 08:11 Eighteen doctors in his family 08:16 and they're all on the front line 08:17 and he's asked us to pray for them. 08:19 Dr. Tom, Dr. Samuel, Dr. Dan, Dr. Basil, 08:24 Dr. Bruce, Dr. Ben, Dr. Song, 08:29 Dr. Vernon, Dr. Andrew, Dr. Harold, 08:33 Dr. Cindy, Dr. Braine, 08:37 Dr. Jamie, Dr. Michael, 08:41 Dr. Anthony, Dr. Jana, 08:45 Dr. Jonathan, or Jonathan 08:50 and Dr. April. 08:53 What a remarkable family, 08:54 18 doctors from one family 08:57 fighting this accursed thing COVID-19 09:01 And may I mention too, 09:03 let us pray today for the governor of New York, 09:08 Dr. Andrew Cuomo, but especially for his brother 09:12 who has come down with the coronavirus. 09:16 Let us pray together. 09:17 I want you now wherever you are, 09:19 to join me in an earnest prayer, 09:22 will you please to the great God of heaven. 09:24 Shall we pray? 09:26 Our Father in heaven, 09:27 we thank You today for Jesus our Lord. 09:31 We thank you that Jesus is Lord of all, 09:36 Lord over the coronavirus, 09:38 Lord over everything in this world. 09:42 And we pray in His precious name today 09:45 that you will bless the names of these doctors 09:49 and government officials, Don Beagle's mother. 09:54 We pray that You will send relief 09:56 and You will send it soon that the laboratories 10:00 will soon get a medicine that will fight 10:04 and defeat this unseen enemy, please. 10:08 We pray that the scientists will soon find the vaccine. 10:12 And so we pray for every person here. 10:15 We pray for the people who are watching this telecast. 10:19 We pray that You will give us peace, 10:22 and give us strength, 10:24 and give us trust in God. 10:27 We thank You for hearing us this day. 10:29 And we pray this prayer in a mighty 10:32 and the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, 10:36 our Lord, and our Savior, 10:39 and for His sake and all the people said amen. 10:44 I'll have to say amen out of this room, 10:48 because there's nobody in this room. 10:51 Did you know that Mr. Rogers 10:53 was an ordained Presbyterian minister? 10:57 He was a television producer. 10:59 He was puppeteer. 11:01 He was just a remarkable 11:05 and a wonderful person. 11:08 He was also, I'm told a musician, 11:12 and he kept up his ordination right through his life. 11:15 Child psychologist. 11:17 Now, I'll have to read this bit because this is new to me. 11:21 Margaret McFarland helped 11:24 Mr. Rogers plan he shows that help children 11:28 understand that they were very special. 11:31 And the reason America loved Mr. Rogers, 11:34 wherever he was seen 11:35 was that he taught people that they was special, 11:39 especially children. 11:40 Don't you remember the song, 11:41 you know, what a wonderful song, 11:43 "You're special to me." 11:45 His program Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood ran for 33 years. 11:50 Cynic said that's impossible 11:53 in materialistic America and in New York, 11:56 33 years from 1968 to 2001. 12:00 And I can remember listening to him 12:03 sing a little song, You're special to me. 12:06 You're special to me. 12:08 Won't you be my neighbor? 12:11 He was teaching people, 12:13 he was projecting the message that because God made us, 12:17 every person is special. 12:21 That's why people loved him. 12:23 And Tom Hanks was a really great Mr. Rogers. 12:28 And he... 12:30 that these two men were slightly related. 12:33 They were six cousins apart 12:36 which is something, better than nothing. 12:38 Fred had a very difficult childhood. 12:40 Like many kids, he was overweight. 12:45 He was, you know, fat. 12:47 And so they called him Fat Freddy. 12:51 And when he grew up, he spent most of his time 12:54 in his room by himself, playing with his puppets. 12:59 A little boy, who was little bit overweight. 13:03 He didn't have any friends. 13:04 And he didn't feel very, very special. 13:08 It wasn't until he went to college 13:10 and university that people started to see 13:13 that he was very special and a big footballer 13:16 took Fred under his wing and took care of him. 13:21 And they became, this great big huge footballer. 13:24 And Fred, they became buddies. 13:30 That footballer was a very special friend 13:35 to Mr. Rogers. 13:39 In the movie, Tom Hanks, this great actor 13:43 whom I admire so much, acting as Fred Rogers shows 13:47 unconditional love to an honest 13:49 and understandably cynic reporter. 13:53 You can understand, my friend, why some reporters are cynical 13:58 They live in a very cynical world. 14:03 And so, what happens is this. 14:07 Here's this reporter. 14:09 His name is Tom Junot, 14:12 who worked for Esquire Magazine. 14:15 And he was told by his boss 14:17 to do an article on Fred. 14:24 He started out, trying to get to know Fred, 14:27 and he was like a lot of reporters, 14:31 very cynical. 14:32 And as I said before, he was honest, 14:34 but he was very, very cynical. 14:37 Tom Junot said recently as reported by 14:42 Time Magazine, and I'm going to, 14:44 quote Time Magazine. 14:48 "It was a complete mystery to me, 14:52 how he could be, who he was, 14:56 how he could stay who he was, 14:59 and that it wasn't a pose, 15:03 it wasn't an act." 15:06 You see, my friend, with many people, 15:08 it's a pose, it's an act. 15:12 But Fred was the real deal 15:17 because Fred believed in a God 15:20 who loved him, and therefore, 15:22 because he was a part of God's special creation, 15:27 he was special. 15:28 And that also meant that you were special too. 15:34 Now please, look at me. 15:36 I'm looking at you, no studio audience, 15:39 I'm here by myself alone, 15:42 wearing my Harley Davidson jacket. 15:46 You won't believe it. 15:47 But when I was a young guy, 15:49 I used to ride my Harley Davidson 15:51 through the Outback of Australia. 15:54 There's nothing much better than 15:56 getting up early in the morning 15:58 and going down on Outback road with the birds 16:01 coming out of the grass and so forth, 16:04 and you're road a Harley. 16:06 But that's got really 16:07 not much to do with my talk today. 16:10 But my Harley Davidson was also special to me. 16:15 In the movie, and it's just, it's a great thing 16:20 that when Tom Hanks is playing Fred, 16:26 he catches the spirit of this man, 16:30 and he passes by them, he brings out the message so, 16:34 so wonderfully, and it is also sincere. 16:39 It wasn't an act. It wasn't an act. 16:43 Now, I only discovered this 16:46 recently that Fred Rogers prayed for people 16:48 by name every day. 16:50 When he got out of bed, 16:52 the first thing he did, he said his prayers. 16:54 You see, strong people pray to God 16:57 because they believe in a God who believes in them. 17:00 I want you to believe in the God 17:02 who believes in you, my brother, my sister. 17:04 If you're going through a tough time today, 17:06 and we're all going through difficult times, 17:08 stressful times, I say this to you, 17:10 believe in the God who believes in you, 17:15 because you are special to God. 17:18 God thinks about you. 17:21 He hears your prayers. 17:23 He's got a plan for you. 17:25 So Fred believed that every person was important. 17:29 That's why he said, sang the song, 17:31 wish I could sing, you're special to me. 17:34 And then also, won't you be my neighbor? 17:38 It'd be wonderful day in the neighborhood 17:39 if we were all neighbors, 17:42 and we saw everybody as being valuable, 17:44 and everybody being special. 17:46 You know what? 17:47 It's very sad that you find the people 17:51 who are often basically good people, 17:54 but they say such terrible things 17:56 about our people, especially in politics. 17:59 They say such rude things, 18:01 and they cast dispersions upon their political enemies. 18:05 Let me say to everybody 18:08 who's watching the telecast today, 18:10 that we're all children of God. 18:14 And because we're all children of God, 18:16 whether we live in New York City, 18:18 or out here in Los Angeles, 18:21 or over there in Sydney, 18:23 or up there in Brisbane, or down in Melbourne. 18:27 Whether you live in San Francisco, 18:29 we may have different viewpoints 18:32 on many things, 18:34 but we are all sons and daughters of God. 18:39 And because this is true, 18:42 you are a special person. 18:45 There is no one like you, and God loves you. 18:50 Let me talk about the outer circle of God's love 18:54 and the inner circle of God's love. 18:57 John 3:16 is a text that even unbelievers I think know. 19:01 John 3:16, it's quoting the words of Jesus. 19:07 We hardly need to look up that text because we know it, 19:11 we've been taught, and we've heard it somewhere, 19:13 "For God so loved the world." 19:17 That's the big circle. 19:18 Seven billion of us, plus and counting. 19:22 But God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, 19:25 so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, 19:28 but have everlasting life." 19:30 That means these 7 billion people. 19:36 Oh, what a big family. 19:40 But God runs the universe. 19:41 And I believe there are many other universes too. 19:44 I believe that God has 19:45 a vast incomprehensibly big family. 19:49 But the human family is very special to God, 19:54 because Jesus died for the human family. 19:59 But God so loved the world, He gave his only Son, 20:01 that's the outer circle of God's love. 20:04 But there is an inner circle. 20:07 And I read about this in the Book of Galatians, 20:11 which is written by the great Apostle Paul. 20:16 And in the Book of Galatians, it talks, my dear friend, 20:20 about the inner circle of God's love. 20:23 "I have been crucified with Christ," Paul says, 20:27 "it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, 20:33 and the life which I now live in the flesh 20:36 I live by faith in the Son of God, 20:40 who loved me, 20:43 me and gave Himself for me." 20:48 This is the inner circle. 20:50 The outer circle is God loves the world 20:53 and Christ died for the whole human race 20:55 so that anybody has the opportunity 20:59 of being saved. 21:01 That's the outer circle of God's love. 21:03 But, my friend, I want to draw you in today 21:06 into the inner circle of God's love. 21:09 I know that even though God loves this world. 21:11 It's a huge world, 21:12 and there are billions of people 21:14 on this world. 21:16 God loves you as though you were the only individual 21:22 alive on this planet. 21:25 And Christ would have died for you, brother, sister, 21:28 if you had been 21:31 the only lost soul. 21:34 This is amazing. 21:37 And that is why in a very special sense, 21:41 you are special to God. 21:46 And you are a special person. 21:51 There's no one like you. 21:52 There's no one as beautiful as you. 21:56 God thinks about you. 21:57 God cares for you. 21:59 And God in Christ 22:01 went to the cross to redeem you, 22:04 and to save you. 22:07 So, there's the outer circle. 22:10 That's the whole wide world. 22:12 That's pretty big. 22:13 But then there is the inner circle. 22:16 Look at this. 22:18 I want you to see this on the screen. 22:19 Everyone is beautiful in his own way. 22:22 Hear what I'm saying everyone, everyone is important. 22:26 That's the gospel according to Fred Rogers. 22:30 This is a wonderful gospel. 22:34 It doesn't matter whether you're black, 22:37 or white, or brown, or yellow, 22:41 or old with slightly gray hair. 22:47 Whether you're old or whether you're young, 22:50 whether you're good looking or rather plain and homely, 22:55 whether you're rich or whether you are poor. 22:59 As far as God is concerned, 23:02 those things don't really matter at all. 23:06 What matters is that you are special to God. 23:12 And because you are special to God, 23:16 Fred Rogers would say to people 23:18 and those little kids, you're special to me. 23:22 You're special to me. 23:25 I want us today as we fight this terrible virus 23:28 to remember that every person 23:33 is special to God. 23:35 That's the gospel according to Fred Rogers. 23:39 Hey, there's another great text, 23:41 I want to show you. 23:42 Jeremiah 1:5. 23:46 Jeremiah 1:5. 23:49 Gonna turn this up here in my Bible. 23:52 You know, it's pretty quiet here in this studio. 23:54 I'm more here by myself. 23:56 But I feel that you're here with me today. 23:59 Jeremiah 1:5. 24:04 God says, listen to it, out of the Bible. 24:08 "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." 24:11 Goodness, before I was even conceived. 24:15 "Before you were born, I sanctified you. 24:18 I ordained you a prophet to the nations." 24:21 God says to Jeremiah, look, 24:23 before you're even born, before you were conceived, 24:26 before you were a gleam in your father's eye, 24:31 I knew all about you. 24:33 I set you aside. 24:36 I know, you see God, the Bible says, 24:38 Jesus says even the hairs of our head are all numbered. 24:43 Now I've got seemed to be getting few more hairs this day 24:45 since I can't get to a hairdresser. 24:47 Because we're, you know, in quarantine. 24:49 I don't know how we're gonna be after a few months. 24:52 Beverley said, "You're gonna look a bit 24:54 like one of the prophets from the Old Testament." 24:56 But Jesus said, 24:57 "The very hairs of your head are all numbered." 25:00 That means, He knows all about you. 25:03 He knows how you're feeling today. 25:06 So you're special. 25:09 So during this time of trial 25:12 while we fight the coronavirus COVID-19, 25:15 we must remember, everyone is important, 25:21 rich people and poor people. 25:23 Here in America, 25:24 we have the great Declaration of Independence. 25:26 Oh, that makes me proud. 25:28 I'm gonna put it up 25:29 if I can somewhere 25:31 the Declaration of Independence. 25:33 We have this marvelous step 25:35 in the Declaration of Independence. 25:37 But I'm going to... 25:38 I'm going to read it to you, but I'm going to read it to you 25:41 when I come back. 25:42 Because this, trying to tell me now I'm running out of time, 25:46 but I'll be back, and we're going to talk about 25:49 how we can win the battle 25:52 against this accursed coronavirus 25:56 when we follow the old fashion 25:59 marvelous religion of Fred Rogers. 26:03 So don't go away, because we'll go, 26:06 we'll be back in a moment 26:08 with this special COVID-19 special. 26:13 Stay with us. 26:15 I'll see you soon. 26:27 This is a Carter Report update on the coronavirus. 26:30 Events around the globe are being postponed 26:32 and canceled. 26:33 We do not know how long our lives 26:35 will be disrupted but this we do know, 26:37 the virus will be stopped. 26:39 Health officials have asked all of us to use caution 26:42 when traveling, wash your hands 26:44 and avoid crowds as much as possible. 26:46 The John Carter gospel program in Manila 26:48 will take place in the near future. 26:51 Until then, may we all take refuge 26:53 in the Holy Spirit and know that 26:55 God's grace will guide us through this 26:57 unsettling time. 26:58 Let us pray for a quick recovery for those 27:01 and their families touched by the virus. 27:04 As we continue to provide you 27:06 with new Carter Report programs, 27:09 know that the Lord is watching over us. 27:11 We appreciate you, our Carter Report family. 27:14 This is indeed a time 27:16 when your financial and prayerful support 27:19 will help us reach those who perhaps for the first time 27:22 are turning to God for comfort. 27:28 Time, it takes only a minute to have eternal life. 27:31 How can you get saved in a minute? 27:33 It's simple. 27:35 First believe that Jesus was the Son of God. 27:37 Second, accept His free gift of eternal life. 27:40 And then you're safe. 27:42 It's not hard. 27:44 It doesn't take any time. 27:45 You can be saved in a minute right now. 27:48 Pray with me, Lord God, I realize that I am a sinner. 27:52 My sin has separated me from You. 27:55 I accept that Your Son Jesus Christ died for me. 27:57 I ask Jesus into my heart. 28:00 If you prayed this prayer, you're saved. 28:02 The next thing to do is tell someone, 28:05 fellowship with other followers of Jesus, 28:08 get baptized. 28:09 Read your Bible and pray. 28:12 Choices, we make them every day, all day. 28:15 The most important choice you will make in your life is 28:18 whether to choose eternal life or let it pass you by. 28:22 If you'd like more information about your new life, 28:24 call the number and visit our website. 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Box 1900, Thousand Oaks, 28:36 California 91358. 28:40 Or in Australia, contact us at P.O. Box 861, 28:45 Terrigal, New South Wales 2260. 28:49 This program is made possible 28:51 through the generous support of viewers like you. 28:54 We thank you for your continued support. 28:57 May God richly bless you. |
Revised 2020-04-23