Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR002008S
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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, welcome back. 00:40 We're talking today about our hiding place. 00:43 Some people would say these are scary times. 00:45 They are right, the economy, 00:48 we don't know what's going to happen. 00:49 We do know that 00:51 there are tens of millions of people 00:53 who've lost their jobs 00:55 here in the United States of America. 00:57 I want to tell you today, you don't need to be afraid 01:00 because God is our hiding place. 01:04 Have you ever had a gun stuck in your back? 01:09 I have. 01:10 I was in Africa, 01:12 and I had a gun stuck in my back. 01:14 It's a rather scary experience. 01:17 We've been running this great campaign 01:19 in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe. 01:23 That's the new name for Salisbury, Rhodesia, 01:27 very beautiful city. 01:29 At least it used to be a very beautiful city. 01:32 And we had thousands and thousands 01:34 of people coming to our meetings 01:35 as we were preaching 01:37 the blessed gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 01:41 I had to go back to the television station. 01:44 It was out in the bush, out in the jungle. 01:47 I had to go there for an interview 01:50 but when I got there, I discovered it was a set up. 01:53 And soon I was surrounded 01:55 by a bunch of soldiers with guns, 01:57 protruding me with their guns. 02:00 And they were lead by a man 02:01 who was a terrorist and he was cursing at me 02:05 and railing at me 02:07 because I was there preaching the Gospel of Christ 02:11 and that was something they didn't want to understand. 02:14 At least, he didn't want to understand it. 02:16 He hated Christians. 02:18 And soon I was marched down this road in the jungle, 02:23 and I had this guns sticking in my back. 02:29 Now that can be a rather scary experience 02:31 when you seem to be a million miles from home, 02:35 and you got a gun out sticking in your back. 02:37 You know what I did? 02:39 I recalled Psalm 23. 02:43 "Even though I walked through 02:44 the valley of the shadow of death, 02:46 I will fear no evil." 02:49 I got a tremendous peace. 02:51 I knew that I was in the hands of God. 02:54 And I knew that nothing could touch me 02:56 while I was in the hands of the God who made the stars. 03:01 And then I thought of another tremendous text. 03:04 That's Hebrews 13:5, 6. 03:09 And I want to share that text with you right now. 03:12 If you're feeling afraid, if you're feeling anxious, 03:17 if you're scared of the circumstances, 03:19 I want this text to sink down 03:22 into the molecules of your mind, 03:24 here is the text. 03:26 "Let your conduct be without covetousness, 03:29 be content with such things as you have." 03:32 Now here it is, "For He Himself has said, 03:37 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' 03:43 So we may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper, 03:47 I will not fear, what can men do to me?'" 03:52 I tell you what, my friend. 03:54 When you're in Africa, and you seem to be forsaken 04:00 by every person on the face of the earth 04:03 and you're there by yourself. 04:05 And you've got a gun sticking in your back 04:07 and a terrorist is cursing at you 04:10 and saying that he's going to have you killed. 04:14 You need to find a hiding place. 04:16 And deep down inside God spoke to me, 04:20 God said, John, you don't have to be afraid 04:25 because I'm going to take care of you. 04:30 I want to say this today from my heart to your heart, 04:34 my beloved brother and sister, 04:36 don't be afraid because God has said, 04:40 I will never, never, never leave you 04:43 and I'll never forsake you. 04:46 As soon as we walk down this jungle path, 04:51 the terrorist was driving car, 04:53 he was cursing me out of the window of the car, 04:56 and all these soldiers were walking with me, 05:00 some pushing me along with guns. 05:03 Then the terrorist said, 05:05 "I'm gonna leave you to these men." 05:06 They turn the car around 05:08 and he went back to the television station. 05:10 And as soon as he was out of sight, 05:13 the soldiers got around me 05:15 and they put down their guns, 05:17 and they started to hug me and they said, 05:19 "Pastor Carter, we know you, 05:22 we come to your meetings, 05:24 we've come to your meetings, and we've accepted Christ." 05:30 I said, "Thank God, 05:33 He's my hiding place and He has preserved me." 05:37 And soon they rushed me off in a car 05:40 and got me back to the meeting, 05:41 the people were waiting for me at the meeting. 05:43 They wondered why I was so late. 05:45 I want you to know this. 05:48 No circumstance is too bad for the God who loves you 05:54 and the God who died on the cross to redeem you. 05:59 Now, it's quite likely that we're going to go 06:04 into a great recession, maybe a great depression. 06:10 You can't keep printing billions 06:12 and trillions of dollars 06:14 and think you can just keep doing this. 06:16 A day is coming when it's going to be a day 06:18 of judgment and somebody's going to say, 06:20 I've come for the money. 06:24 And so, a lot of people are saying, 06:26 what are we going to do if we have a depression 06:29 or even a recession? 06:33 I want you to look again at Isaiah 32:2, 06:37 and I'm going to read it in this translation. 06:40 Isaiah 32:1 and onwards now, 06:45 "Look, a righteous King is coming!" 06:47 This is Christ. 06:49 "Honest princes will rule under him. 06:51 He will shelter Israel from the storm and the wind." 06:57 Wow, "He's gonna be a shelter from the storm and the wind." 07:02 I need that shelter. 07:04 "He will refresh her as a river in the desert 07:09 and as the cool shadow 07:12 of a large rock in a hot 07:16 and a weary land." 07:18 Just think about this. 07:20 In other words, my brother and my sister, 07:25 God is going to be our hiding place, 07:28 He's going to be our shelter from the storm, 07:32 He's going to be our refreshing stream in the desert. 07:37 He's going to be our shadow 07:40 of a mighty rock in a weary land. 07:45 Praise God. 07:48 Did you notice this? 07:51 On Monday, the 20th of April, 2020, 07:56 oil dropped to minus 37 dollars, 08:01 the biggest drop in the history of oil. 08:05 I've long been predicting 08:07 a collapse of the world economy. 08:11 I do this on the basis of Bible prophecy. 08:15 I do not believe in sensationalism, 08:18 but I do believe in following 08:22 the truths of the word of God. 08:25 I say this to everybody who is watching the telecast, 08:28 listen to me, you can't keep printing money 08:32 as we are doing here 08:33 in the United States of America. 08:37 The treasury can't keep saying, 08:39 hey, let the printing presses run for another week 08:43 and we'll print another 2 or 3 trillion dollars 08:47 and we'll just give it out. 08:48 There is coming a day of accounting. 08:54 But I want you to know if we have a depression 08:58 that God is going to be our hiding place. 09:03 The recent collapse of oil has sent 09:06 a cease big shock around the world, 09:09 especially Russia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Canada 09:15 and the United States of America 09:18 where we are simply saying, 09:19 let the printing presses run 09:22 and print the trillions of dollars 09:25 because we do not believe in balancing the budget. 09:29 Right now, we have 30 million decent, 09:34 honest, good Americans unemployed. 09:39 Now, I know a little bit about the great depression 09:41 because my parents went through 09:43 the great depression in Australia. 09:45 And this I can tell you is a terrible time 09:47 for my parents, they lost everything they had, 09:51 they lost their shop, they lost their home, 09:55 but my mother discovered Christ during the great depression 09:58 and she discovered that Christ was her hiding place. 10:03 Going to turn to a text over here 10:04 in Luke 21:25 and on. 10:09 Luke 21:25 and onwards. 10:15 Luke 21:25 and onwards. 10:20 And I want you to listen 10:22 now to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, 10:26 doesn't matter whether you believe me or not, 10:28 but matters a great deal 10:29 if you believe the words of Christ. 10:32 "There will be signs in the sun, 10:34 in the moon, and in the stars, 10:36 and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, 10:39 the sea and the waves roaring." 10:42 The literal sea, literal waves roaring, 10:44 but the sea also represents the nations of the world. 10:47 They'll be roaring. 10:49 "Men's hearts failing them from fear 10:51 and the expectation of those things 10:53 which are coming on the earth, 10:55 for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 10:57 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud 11:00 with power and great glory." 11:04 The Bible tells us great things 11:06 are going to happen to the earth, great calamities, 11:08 and the nations are going to be terrified. 11:11 But during that time, 11:13 the people of God will not be frightened 11:15 because they will have peace and security in Christ 11:19 because He is their hiding place. 11:24 So, I want you to know this, 11:26 we have peace in the midst of the storm, 11:29 we have a hiding place. 11:31 And for the Christian, the bad news is the good news 11:34 because Christ is coming. 11:36 Do you hear this? 11:37 The bad news is the good news, brother. 11:39 The bad news is the good news, sister, why? 11:42 Christ is coming. 11:44 And Christ right now is our hiding place, 11:47 this is the word of God. 11:49 But until He comes, 11:50 He will supply our physical needs. 11:54 Did you hear this? 11:56 Until He comes, 11:57 He will supply our physical needs. 12:00 I want to give you one of those precious promises 12:02 that we spoke about in the first session, 12:04 Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God..." 12:09 Are you listening to me, please, are you listening? 12:11 "And my God shall supply," 12:13 He needs to be your personal God, my God. 12:16 "And my God shall supply all your need," 12:19 not all your wants. 12:21 "My God shall supply all your needs 12:23 according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus." 12:26 The Bible tells me 12:27 and this is a promise from Almighty God, 12:30 the God who made the stars that He will supply 12:33 all of our needs 12:35 even in the midst of a great recession 12:37 and depression. 12:39 He is my hiding place and I run to Him and I'm safe. 12:43 When I was a boy preacher out of Avondale College, 12:47 I was sent to a little town, 12:49 beautiful little town in New South Wales, 12:52 biggest state in Australia. 12:55 Sent to a town by the name of Parks, 12:58 New South Wales, Australia. 13:00 I met there an old man, his name was Mr. Draper, 13:04 he told me the story 13:05 when he was a young man living in the Parks area. 13:09 He was so poor, he was living in a tent. 13:14 And then he'd put in some wheat, 13:16 trying to get the wheat to grow, 13:17 nothing seemed to work. 13:20 Then he went along to some meetings in Parks, 13:22 and he heard an evangelist preach about Christ. 13:26 And he gave his life to Christ. 13:29 He became a true Christian. 13:31 And he started to keep the commandments of God, 13:34 I met this great man, Mr. Draper. 13:38 Used to hear him pray, the most wonderful prayers 13:40 I've ever heard, 13:41 filled with all the promises of God. 13:43 He knew God and God knew him. 13:46 Then Mr. Draper started to pay his tithe. 13:49 Do I believe in tithing? 13:51 Of course, I believe in tithing. 13:52 The Bible teaches that 13:53 one tenth of everything we have belongs to God. 13:56 So I believe in returning a tithe to God and since, 14:00 listen to me, since I have been paying tithe 14:03 and maybe sometimes two tithes and three tithes, 14:05 I don't know how to cope with all the blessings 14:08 that Almighty God gives me. 14:10 So I say to you, if you're not a tither 14:13 and if God is not your partner, 14:15 my friend, you're missing out on a tremendous blessing. 14:19 So Mr. Draper said he started to pay his tithe 14:21 and keep God's commandments. 14:22 And he said, wow, 14:25 you should have seen the wheat, the bumper crops. 14:29 He said, I eat that, I couldn't have believed it. 14:31 But the blessings came down from God 14:34 and the blessings came up from God. 14:37 There was so much wheat, 14:39 I was able to get out of the tent. 14:41 I was able to build myself a house. 14:43 He said, I have been marvelously blessed. 14:48 And then he quoted to me Luke 6:38, 14:52 the words of Jesus, look at this. 14:55 This is terrific. 14:56 "Give, it will be given to you." 15:00 The people who are the richest people in the world 15:03 spiritually in every other way 15:05 are the people who give, not the stingy people. 15:09 "Give, it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down, 15:14 shaken together, 15:17 and running over will be put into your bosom. 15:22 For with the same measure that you use, 15:24 it will be measured back to you." 15:26 He said, I got so many blessings. 15:31 God gave me the blessings, 15:33 shaken, press down, running over. 15:37 He said, I just couldn't handle all the blessings. 15:41 God is good. 15:43 He discovered that 15:44 God was good and God was his refuge. 15:48 God was his hiding place. 15:50 God was his refuge from the storm. 15:52 God was his running river of abundance in the desert. 15:57 God was his shadow of a mighty rock 16:01 in a weary land. 16:03 God was everything he needed. 16:06 Mr. Draper found his hiding place. 16:09 I want to say this to you, my friend, my brother, 16:11 my sister, listen to me. 16:13 He is my refuge. 16:15 He is my shelter from the storm. 16:18 He is your river in the desert. 16:20 He is your mighty rock in a weary land. 16:25 He is our refuge when money is in short supply. 16:30 And when the treasury can no longer keep 16:32 printing trillions of dollars, 16:35 when they go broke, God doesn't go broke. 16:38 When money is in short supply 16:40 and times are tough, God is our hiding place. 16:46 When I was a boy in college, didn't have much money, 16:49 was there for six years. 16:52 And one vacation I went selling books 16:55 in Western New South Wales, 16:57 beautiful country and beautiful people. 17:00 And I rode my Harley Davidson, I'm sorry to tell you this, 17:05 but this is inappropriate 17:06 but I love Harley Davidsons and I used to love riding 17:11 my motorbike out meeting all the farmers, 17:16 selling books, but it can be tough 17:20 because where do you stay at night, 17:22 I had nowhere, nowhere to stay. 17:25 But about 7 o'clock at night 17:26 I'd start praying to God, God, look here I am. 17:30 No hotels here, no motels, no tents. 17:35 A lot of wheat country, a lot of country roads. 17:40 And I'd say, God, You're my hiding place. 17:44 And every night, week after week, 17:47 month after month, I was given a place to stay. 17:53 I started out so skinny, I weighed 130 pounds, 17:58 the ministerial students at Avondale had a club 18:00 we called it the Bones Club, 18:03 we were so skinny, didn't get enough food. 18:08 Been there for years trying to get through college, 18:11 get a degree in theology. 18:14 But when I was there, 18:16 I put on 14 pounds riding the motorbike, 18:20 not in college, 14 pounds, 18:22 because people were so generous to me. 18:25 God blessed me. 18:27 I want you to know God is our hiding place, 18:29 He is a hiding place even for poor students. 18:32 Look at Psalm 32:7, 8. 18:35 Psalm 32:7, 8, "You are my hiding place, 18:40 You shall preserve me from trouble, 18:42 You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." 18:45 God did it for me on one occasion. 18:47 Now I'm no good at mechanical things. 18:51 Riding my bike down the road, 18:52 I heard a noise, I went back looked at the back 18:55 wheel which is very hard to take off 18:58 when you've got no tools. 19:00 Even with tools it would be very hard for me, 19:02 there I found huge big nail sticking in the tire 19:06 and that tire had a rubber tube inside. 19:10 So I said, "What can I do?" 19:12 I can get the nail out 19:14 but I can't get the tire off and I can't fix it. 19:17 I got down there in the dust. 19:19 Are you still listening to me? 19:20 You better hear this. 19:22 I got down there in the dust in New South Wales 19:25 beside the Harley Davidson. 19:26 I said, God, "I've got no tools. 19:30 I don't know what to do. 19:32 I'm trying to earn my fees to go back to college. 19:36 I'm going to take this nail out, 19:38 please keep it up, 19:41 pull the nail out." 19:44 I'm expecting to hear 19:46 the noise of the air blowing out, 19:47 not a lot of faith, you see. 19:51 But it doesn't depend just upon our faith, 19:53 it depends all upon God, He's our hiding place. 19:56 I pulled the nail out, I got on the bike 19:59 and I had enough faith to get on the bike. 20:01 And I rode it down the road 20:03 and I rode it for the next three months 20:07 selling books, 20:08 children's books on the Gospel of Christ. 20:12 The tire never went flat, God kept the tire up. 20:16 You say, "It's impossible." 20:17 Nothing is impossible to the God who made the stars. 20:21 I want you to know, my friend, that God is our hiding place. 20:26 God is our refuge. 20:29 H.M.S. Richards is one of the great preachers 20:32 of the United States of America, 20:34 had a quartet, they used to sing the song, 20:37 there is a place of quiet rest, 20:41 near to the heart of God. 20:43 When you get near to the heart of God 20:45 you will find that it is a wonderful place. 20:49 It is a place without fear, 20:52 it is a place of quiet rest for you. 20:54 So we will not fear a recession or a depression 20:58 because we have a hiding place and we are safe. 21:02 We shall not be fearful or anxious. 21:06 Now let me tell you this, I'm gonna run out of time 21:08 before I run out of stories. 21:10 I was in a war zone 21:12 and alone in a broken-down taxi. 21:17 I flew from Amman in Jordan to Damascus in Syria, 21:21 it was a time of fear and tension. 21:24 In Damascus, I hired a car 21:25 and drove hundreds of miles north 21:29 going to an archaeological site 21:30 called Tell Mardikh 21:33 where they discovered the ancient city of Ebla. 21:35 Then I had to come back to Damascus, 21:38 a long, long day full of tension 21:42 because this is a dangerous part of the world. 21:44 When I got back to Damascus, 21:46 I discovered that my flight back to Amman 21:49 had been canceled, so I had to get a taxi, 21:53 a service taxi and drive down the road 21:56 at the middle of night down to Amman 22:00 and had to go over the Golan Heights. 22:03 And in the middle of the night the taxi 22:05 broke down on the Golan Heights. 22:09 There were soldiers going everywhere. 22:11 My taxi driver got out, went to try to get help. 22:15 He was away for a couple of hours. 22:17 I could see tanks moving around the car. 22:21 God was my hiding place. 22:23 I thought of Psalm 23. 22:25 I thought of Psalm 91. 22:27 And I said, "You are my hiding place." 22:31 We got the car going, we got back to Amman 22:35 after one of the most dangerous experiences of my life, 22:39 but I had peace because God was with me. 22:44 I've read in my mind Psalm 91, not gonna go through it now. 22:50 But where God says, 22:51 "I will be with you in trouble." 22:56 We shall not fear. 22:58 God is my hiding place when sorrow strikes. 23:04 Got to move on a little bit, I'll run out of time, 23:06 but I'm going to tell you a wonderful story. 23:09 Death is the ultimate threat, 23:10 but there is a hiding place from death. 23:15 Folks, I'm not an armchair theologian, 23:17 what I'm telling you I know it's true 23:20 because I've seen the power of God. 23:23 This is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Horatio Spafford, 23:26 who lived in Chicago during the 19th century. 23:29 He was a very successful businessman, 23:32 but he lost everything in the Great Chicago Fire. 23:34 He decided to take his wife and four daughters to England 23:37 to assist the great evangelist Dwight Moody. 23:41 At the last moment, he was forced to stay behind 23:44 to attend urgent business matters. 23:46 So he sent his family ahead on the ship, 23:49 Ville du Havre, he planned them to join them 23:53 in two weeks, 23:54 but it was not to be the ship carrying his family, 23:58 his wife and four daughters was struck and sunk 24:01 by the English vessel Loch Earn in just 12 minutes. 24:05 The survivors finally landed at Cardiff in Wales. 24:09 Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband, 24:13 "Saved alone." 24:19 Although stricken by grief, Horatio found comfort, 24:21 peace and hope in Christ, his hiding place. 24:24 He penned these words, we sing them. 24:27 When peace like a river, attendenth my way, 24:29 when sorrows like see billows roll. 24:32 Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, 24:35 it is well, it is well with my soul. 24:39 Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come. 24:41 Let this blest assurance control, 24:44 that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, 24:48 and hath shed His own blood for my soul. 24:52 And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, 24:56 the clouds be rolled back as a scroll, 24:59 the trumpet shall resound, 25:01 and the Lord shall descend, 25:04 even so, it is well as my soul. 25:08 Listen to me, brother, sister, 25:12 faith sees beyond the present 25:15 and sees our glorious future. 25:18 It sees beyond death 25:20 and sees life in God's precious promises, 25:24 it finds a hiding place. 25:29 It finds security, it finds hope, 25:33 it finds assurance, it finds rest. 25:37 Whatever happens, my friend, 25:39 you and I are never, 25:43 never alone. 25:46 Never forsaken. 25:48 I invite you today, 25:50 take Christ into your heart. 25:54 Believe in Christ, trust in His promises. 26:00 And the Almighty God who loves you 26:06 will be your hiding place. 26:10 Amen and Amen. 26:13 And God bless you. 26:19 Time, it takes only a minute to have eternal life. 26:22 How can you get saved in a minute? 26:24 It's simple. 26:25 First believe that Jesus was the Son of God. 26:28 Second, accept His free gift of eternal life, 26:31 and then you're saved. 26:33 It's not hard. It doesn't take any time. 26:36 You can be saved in a minute right now. 26:39 Pray with me, Lord God, I realized that I am a sinner. 26:43 My sin has separated me from You. 26:45 I accept that Your Son Jesus Christ died for me. 26:48 I ask Jesus into my heart. 26:51 If you prayed this prayer, you are saved. 26:53 The next thing to do is tell someone, 26:56 fellowship with other followers of Jesus. 26:59 Get baptized. 27:00 Read your Bible and pray. 27:02 Choices, we make them every day all day. 27:06 The most important choice you will make in your life 27:09 is whether to choose eternal life 27:11 or let it pass you by. 27:13 If you'd like more information about your new life, 27:15 call the number and visit our website. 27:21 You can now find the Carter Report anywhere, 27:24 anytime on any Android or Apple device. 27:29 Use your cell phone, tablet, computer, 27:33 or TV to access the many inspirational messages 27:38 from Pastor Carter 24x7. 27:40 For Apple users, go to the App Store, 27:43 for Android users, go to Google Play 27:46 and download the free Carter Report app. 27:51 The Carter Report also has an official YouTube 27:55 and Vimeo channel. 27:57 Search for the Carter Report 27:58 and find the topic that speaks to you. 28:01 Roku users, simply search for the Carter Report 28:04 and download the app free. 28:06 The same on Amazon Fire. 28:09 For Apple TV, visit the App Store 28:11 and download the app. 28:13 Reach out to the Carter Report and experience the hope, 28:16 faith and love of Jesus Christ. 28:23 For a copy of today's program, 28:25 please contact us at 28:26 P.O. 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Revised 2020-05-21